Variety‘s Owen Gleiberman has declared that Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge, which he calls a “brutally effective, bristlingly idiosyncratic combat saga,” has “a good chance of becoming a player during awards season” and “will likely prove to be the first film in a decade that can mark Gibson’s re-entry into the heart of the industry.”

I assume Gleiberman is suggesting Hacksaw could rank as a Best Picture contender, and that perhaps Andrew Garfield might earn laurels as a Best Actor contender. I’ve presumed all along and sight unseen that Hacksaw Ridge wouldn’t even begin to merit award-season consideration because of Gibson’s longstanding pariah status. And if that wasn’t enough, I’ve also been presuming that the film’s Christian-faith narrative wouldn’t go down all that well among industry types, the thinking being that the Republican right has owned Christianity lock, stock and barrel since the early ’80s and, you know, eff that jazz.