War film achieves high art with "Jacket"

Rating: 9/10 (13 February 2008)

You wouldn't expect someone with Kubrick's vision to tackle something as gritty and human as war, but Kubrick does and the result is a brilliantly written and carefully crafted Vietnam War film that captures better than any war film the true nature of dehumanization of both enemy and soldier.
In its basic form, "Full Metal Jacket" has a two-part structure, one in basic training and one abroad during the Tet Offensive, with the through line being Matthew Modine's character Private Joker as he wrestles with the true nature of what it is he has gotten himself into. In the beginning he establishes himself as "Joker" and says he was "born to kill" a message with truly meaningful irony as he wears that statement on his helmet in the film's second half. This is truly Joker's story and it is through him we understand Kubrick's message.
The supporting cast, however, is where the plot tends to revolve, specifically in the beginning. Sgt. Hartman (R. Lee Ermey) gives a truly unforgettable performance as he simply drills the recruits for the bulk of this section. You start to feel like he's giving you orders and screaming profanities at you because of how much he dominates the beginning of the film. The conflict arises when recruit nicknamed Private Pyle (Vincent D'Onofrio) simply can't keep up, failing at everything and Hartman never eases off until Pyle conforms to the idea of being a killing machine. This antagonistic relationship speaks to war on the most basic level and Kubrick does an incredible job portraying that.
The screenplay is out of this world, especially the lines written for Sgt. Hartman, and the directing is incredibly solid. Kubrick has made a war film in which full out action sequences are immaterial and yet we are still entertained and intrigued. There are times where the film gets a bit slow and redundant, but it's definitely done to focus on the psychological part of war, not the action part.