Another uncomfortable work of art by Kubrick

Rating: 8/10 (30 July 2014)

Full Metal Jacket is not just another movie about the Vietnam War. It follows a young Private Joker (Matthew Modine) on his journey from boot camp, to graduation, and through his tour in Vietnam. It exposes the methods and mentality of war that brought out a darker side of the human spirit.
Stanley Kubrick tap dances around the political discussion occurring during that time period. He portrays the boot camp training of Gunnary Sergeant Hartman (R. Lee Ermy) as a degrading, brainwashing journey to becoming a trained killer. For the first thirty minutes of the film the dialog is dominated by Ermy's trademark profanity-laden shout. After a bizarre moment involving Private Pyle's (Vincent D'Onofrio) death, the film jumps to Vietnam. Here the marines' demeaning treatment and resentment of the Vietnamese people is brought to the forefront. The documentary being filmed right in the middle of a hot zone showed interviews with some of the marines, who were asked their views on the war. The actors skirt the issues, for the most part. Even Joker's contradictory peace sign button and "Born to Kill" scribbled on his helmet hint at opposing views on their presence in Vietnam.
Platoon is also a film following a young military recruit and his tour in Vietnam. It was released a year prior to Full Metal Jacket, but did not have the though-provoking political content or the focus on the American/ Vietnamese relationship. Platoon is concerned with the relationships between the soldiers and their internal conflicts.
One way Kubrick makes Full Metal Jacket almost uncomfortable to watch at times is through the soundtrack and audio, or sometimes their absence. He makes the audience feel the tension in the scene by slowly adding a slow tribal drumbeat when the marines in Vietnam are "hunting" a sniper in the burned-out buildings. He also cuts from a very emotional and disturbing scene to an upbeat popular song from the time period. One overt example of this is the transition from Private Pyle's murder/ suicide to the first scene in a Da Nang market backed by "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra.
Creative camera angles also accentuate the emotions of the movie. During one of Gny. Sgt. Hartman's rants on Private Pyle, the viewer takes the place of Pyle as Hartman violently waggles his finger and directly addresses the camera. The two unnamed, but familiar late marines are ringed by many of their brothers and the camera is located in the center of the ring. As each speaks their peace, the camera pans tightly to the next person in turn, giving an almost dizzying effect. These sporadic camera angles give the viewer a chaotic, almost vertigo- inducing point-of-view.
Kubrick's intention with the film, and most of his films, is to make the audience think, and sometimes feel uncomfortable with what he addresses in his films. He hints at both sides of the politics of Vietnam without blatantly stating his own view. He allows the audience to consider all parts of the film, like treatment and conditioning at boot camp and the degradation of the Vietnamese during the war, and make their own political decisions on the subject.