We have been blessed to have our twenty-something grandson visiting for the week and were delighted when he asked if we could go see the new film, “Young Washington.” Though we do go once or twice a year to the movies, I am still somewhat irritated by the lengthy review of scads of new films coming out that I determine immediately to never watch! However; once the feature began things got off to quite an interesting start. First off, seeing Washington as a small boy, was intriguing and his struggles dealing with the death of his father, his being thrust into an apprenticeship and unable to continue his schooling paints a portrait quite different than the one we are accustomed to. The cinematography was spectacular, without the need for special effects, and paints with accuracy both the roughness and beauty of life in colonial Virginia.

The script follows the historical events without becoming a slave to it and is by no means a documentary. Rather, the writers trace the complexities of George Washington, as he struggles with loss, rejections, and the horrors of watching a friend die in his arms in battle. I won’t give away too many details of the twists and turns of the story, but, I would suggest that this film is not for the very young. Maybe I am just a bit old-fashioned but I would suggest 15+ depending on the age and maturity of your children, because of the violence in some of the scenes. This film does live up to its title, “Young Washington, as it stops well short of those events we might ordinarily expect to be included in a movie about George Washington. The signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, and his presidency will have to wait for the sequel, which is rumored to be in the works. Overall, it was an important film and well worth seeing, though I would not recommend bringing family members under 15, due to the violent shown during the scenes depicting  the French and Indian war.