Every once in a while a war movie comes along that is so damn good, you immediately associate it with the conflict it evokes. World War Two has Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan or La vita è bella,while Vietnam has Apocalypse Now, Platoon or Full Metal Jacket(to name only a few in both cases). Thusly, it comes as no surprise that the current Irak War should have its fair share of movie material. The Hurt Locker comes and immediately becomes the definitive film that treats this difficult subject matter, because its collosal ease in putting together one of the most gritty, fascinating and powerful character studies ever put on the silver screen.
The Hurt Locker is the story of a US Army EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team during the war. Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty are Sergeant William James, Sergeant JT Sanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge respectively. The three must cope not only with defusing bombs and other such devices, but with the tension that builds up among them. William James is brilliant at his job, but ever so reckless, causing his two teammates, who are entrusted to keep him and themselves alive and well to label him a menace. Everything escalates, as it must, and in the end, the three will be surely changed by their harrowing experiences...or will they?
The three might appear stereotypical war-movie-characters, with the brash young maverick, his more serious counterpart that keeps him in check, and the rookie that eventually learns the harsh realities of war, but are in fact not. Mark Boal has written a brilliant, low-key script that is as much an eversion of its genre as it is a tribute- I won't say more, so as not to spoil the plot, but by turning the clichés specific to this genre on their heads he ensures the viewer will invest emotionally in the characters and cares what happens to them in the end. Said ending will surely stay with the viewers for a long time, and makes the movie stand out among its counterparts.
Kathryn Bigelow establishes herself as a brilliant director with this showcase. She avoids any confusion that often plague war movies- you know what happens on-screen at all times, and crafts set-pieces of an often unbearable tension, counterbalanced by poignant scenes of human interaction in the living hell that the battlefield is. The cinematography is immersive, and the documentary feel of the movie adds to the atmosphere, delivering, in harrowing detail, a story about heroes that appear in the most unlikely places. Some scenes might seem gratuitous to the casual popcorn munching fan, since this is not a non-stop action romp, but when the action does show up, it does so in spades. After some scenes, you might just need to remove the dust and gravel from your pores.
Our hero, William James, is played by Jeremy Renner, in his "remember-the-name" role, and he is an absolute force. Renner crafts one of the most complex character studies seen in movies in a long time, and carries his weight masterfully. If at first his simple appearance might deceive, by the time the credits are rolling, you know you have witnessed the birth of a classic. Renner's towering presence should not detract from Mackie's subtle and controlled performance as Sanborn, nor Geraghty's painfully believable turn as Eldridge. Other small roles include the ever-solid Guy Pearce, David Morse and Ralph Fiennes, their small performances feeling not as cameos but rather as forceful trumps that add to the end result.
Being politically unbiased, The Hurt Locker makes no excuses for itself- whether you perceive it as a metaphor for the artist (no matter how dangerous his canvas), the justification of heroes even in places that might not evoke their necessity, or just a hard, lifelike, gut-wrenching portrait of war and the individuals that participate, you'll surely be mesmerized by Bigelow's film.
In the end, The Hurt Locker is easy to recommend, and justifies all the praise Bigelow, Boal and especially Renner received and more, both for its obvious accomplishments, but also for the things that it leaves you with long after it's over- it's as much a slap on the wrist as it is a kick to the stomach, as much a character study as a jaw-dropping narrative, as much a war-thriller as a drama.
Essential.
10/10 Stefan
No comments:
Post a Comment