Natural Right on Horseback

Directed by Jon Erwin and released to commemorate this special Fourth of July, the film Young Washington hits the viewer almost startlingly. George Washington (William Franklyn-Miller) is portrayed as having what members of our clerisy would call “toxic masculinity.” Prepare yourself to witness the strength, courage, and decency of a young man driven by ambition and daring. The facts of the period are presented without apology or endorsement. They simply exist. The British Army wants the entire frontier for the Empire and is prepared to take it by any means necessary. The French mean the same and aren’t budging for the British. Slaves pass through the film, but no attempt is made to whitewash or ignore their presence as slaves.