The Hurt Locker
Release: February 18
Running time: 131 minutes
Rating: MA (strong themes, violence and coarse language)
In 2004, Journalist Mark Boal spent time as a reporter embedded in an elite bomb-disposal Unit in Baghdad. Having first-hand observation, he recounted these experiences in an article developed into a screenplay. Then, through collaboration with acclaimed director Kathryn Bigelow (K-19: The Widowmaker, Blue Steel), together they produced a film that is sure to distract everyone from Avatar. That film is The Hurt Locker.
The Hurt Locker is a realistic depiction of a U.S. Military unit in Iraq who specialize in the disarming of bombs that are planted by Iraqi insurgents on roads to slow down the infiltrating Americans. The audience follow the disposal-addict Staff Sergeant William James, played by Jeremy Renner (28 Weeks Later, The Assassination of Jesse James), and his two subordinates, Sgt. JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Sgt. Eldridge (Brian Geraghty), who have volunteered for arguably the most dangerous job in the world.
The foremost part that propels the film is the way it is presented visually. The Hurt Locker was produced independently, which allowed Bigelow to shoot on location, at times 5km away from the Iraqi border. This gave Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd (Paul Greengrass’ United 93 and the upcoming Green Zone) the opportunity to portray a western-esque naturalism in the action sequences to make the audience feel like they need to duck and hide as well as the characters. The action’s slow motion shots honestly feel odd and out of pace compared to the film’s handheld-style (I suppose Bigelow incorporated these shots to help the audience understand the sheer wave of pressure that a bomb can cause).
The The Hurt Locker is filled with highly tense, very powerful action set-pieces, the film’s story is driven by an intense, complex drama between the three leads. James is ruthlessly addicted to war, Sanborn uses the conflict as an escape from home whilst Eldridge is simply confused, saying “people die all the time, why not me?”. Bigelow shows the effect of war on a psychological level as much as its obvious physical cost and the director (along with Boal) has steered clear from genre convention. Their characters don't bond through friendship and camaraderie; rather, they discover their true feeling towards their purpose in life in such a deep, powerful way.
In comparison to other war films The Hurt Locker stands tall, as fresh as the similarly-themed HBO series Generation Kill. Bigelow’s latest film is a fascinating insight into today’s warfare that is not shown on the news, with actors chosen for the level and quality of their performances rather than marquee value.
The Hurt Locker cannot be missed.
Benjamin Plymin
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Comments
This was a good film overall,
This was a good film overall, although other than the main point of it which was to basically say that "war is a drug", it didn't really go anywhere else.
I thought it was more of a
I thought it was more of a character piece than a commentary on war really. I think the 'main point' was to show how this one character, a sort of anti-hero, deals with the horrifying situations that he volunteers for and why he does it in the first place. Its not a typical war movie in that it eschews the by-the-numbers 'war is hell' motif in favor of a more personal conflict that i found very interesting.
Honestly i hope it wins best picture, it was incredibly tense and well shot and provided something different.
-Mike