History Film / HacksawRidge

** Smitty. He acts quite assholish to Desmond because of the latter's nonviolent beliefs, even smacking him with his bible. He was also ''[[EverybodyHasStandards against]]'' another group of men for beating up Doss for the reason. And later on, he proves to be quite brave and selfless in battle and opens up to Doss and comes to respect him, and even admits that he can be an asshole.

* HospitalHottie: Dorthy is a nurse played by the gorgeous Teresa Palmer.

* TheBusCameBack: Ghoul is thought to be dead after he's found unmoving after his abortive assault on the Japanese bunker, and then after he's revealed to have survived that and gets wounded during the Japanese counteattack. He shows up alive and well in the background when Desmond is being thanked by the soldiers after rescuing Sergeant Howell.

* HumbleHero: Doss never thinks of himself as anything more than a regular soldier and medic just trying to do his duty. As the epilogue shows, this was very much truth in television as the real Doss would dismiss any claims that he was a hero by saying the real heroes were the ones who had given their lives in combat and claiming the feeling of helping a soldier who thought he'd been blinded would've been more than enough.

* ShaggyDogStory: During the Japanese counter-attack, Doss encounters an injured medic from the unit that merged with Doss'. He attempts to administer aid, but the medic insists that the plasma infusion should go to someone who needs it more than he does. Doss then finds a wounded Andy "Ghoul" Walker and administers aid with the plasma, [[spoiler:but a stray bullet ends up shattering the container. In the aftermath of the battle back at the wound station, it was revealed that the medic who refused the plasma didn't make it because he ended up going into shock due to lack of plasma.]]

** In flashback, Desmond has a genuine look of horror on his face [[spoiler: when he points a gun at his father and Thomas Doss breaks down in self-loathing tears]]

** Captain Glover works with Howell to try and force Desmond out but he has a moment of private connection with him where he speaks about his own faith and his difficulty in reconciling it with his duty as a soldier and pleads with Doss to simply leave before he is dishonorably discharged, ruining his life. He also cares deeply for the men under his watch and tells Desmond he was wrong and asks his forgiveness after he sees how bravely he served in rescuing other soldiers.

The film is set during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and BasedOnATrueStory, that of private Desmond Thomas Doss (Garfield), a [[UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} Seventh-day Adventist]] conscientious objector who refused to bear arms and became a combat medic. He ended up awarded the Medal of Honor by President UsefulNotes/HarrySTruman for single-handedly saving the lives of over 75 of his comrades while under constant enemy fire during the [[WorldWarII/WarInAsiaAndThePacific Battle of Okinawa]].

* TheBusCameBack: Ghoul is thought to be dead after he's found unmoving after his abortive assault on the Japanese bunker, but he shows up alive and well in the background when Desmond is being thanked by the soldiers after rescuing Sergeant Howell.

* ThousandYardStare: Some of the fellow soldiers Desmond and his troop encounter during their arrival at Hacksaw Ridge have this blank look on their faces due to the horrors they have witnessed.