Should be shown again today

Rating: 10/10 (27 August 2003)

What is amazing about Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket isn't its action sequences or its exotic locations, its plot sequence, its cinematography, score, or editing cues. It is that no part of the film leaves your memory...everything that you see, everything that Kubrick wanted you to see, remains in your memory for the duration of the film, and in many cases, much longer.
I don't think many people realize just how well-acted this film is. Vincent D'Onofrio is nothing short of incredible in his performance of Pvt. Pyle, a Lenny-like character who unknowingly gets himself into trouble, and the military's lack of understanding causes trouble for all. D'Onofrio is not a big man...many might remember his performance from The Cell and think of a massive beefcake, but D'Onofrio is the same guy who plays the squirrly detective on Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
As Pvt. Joker, played quite well by Matthew Modine, takes Pyle under his wing, compassionately teaching him how to succeed in the eyes of Gunnery Sgt. Hartman, we're brought to visions of Of Mice and Men, with George and Lenny and the care in that relationship, except here we begin to see Pyle succeed, and we feel good about ourselves and the world around us, seeing the underdog come from behind and become a success. We even see small moments of kindness from Hartman, when his derogatory remarks to Pyle are tempered to show the only care allowed in the Marines.

But this is not a feel-good story...this is not like a WWII movie where Evil is defeated. In a scene out-of-nowhere, everything changes, and for the next 90 minutes, you never forget what you just saw.
This bothers a lot of people when it comes to the second part of the movie, but it shouldn't...it's what Kubrick wanted. We see Pvt. Joker now in Vietnam, joking about the world around him, a complete reversal from the previous tone. As an audience, we want to see resolution from the last part brought into this new part, but we can't...that's not how war is. And as Joker gets deeper and deeper into war, the events on-screen don't weigh as heavily...they can't, because the evil of the situation is no longer new...we are accustomed to it.
Many people have a problem with the climax of the film, either that it comes too fast, that it's not as big a deal as the end of the first part of the movie, or that it seems out of flux with the rest of the film. Yet again I point to intent. Most movies we watch happen completely on-screen...we become a part of the action only to an extent, and when the lights come up, we feel resolved. Kubrick makes the audience players in his films...we see actions, we react, and all of his future moves are predicated on our reactions. They seem off-kilter because life is off-kilter...life is dirty and unforgiving, never leaving time to breathe and truly reconcile situations. Kubrick keeps the movie going because he wants us to see just how awful war is. And according to Full Metal Jacket, war is awful.
One last note...I was dismayed to find that D'Onofrio wasn't nominated for any awards for his performance as Pvt. Pyle. However, Lee Ermey was nominated for several awards for his performance as Gunnery Sgt. Hartman. Ermey takes over the screen, bringing comedy to a scene where it doesn't seem to belong, yet remaining uncompromising at the same time. His full-bodied portrayal of the drill sergeant is astounding, and I wouldn't be surprised if he and D'Onofrio both acted so well that they canceled each other out in the minds of the Academy. Also, Full Metal Jacket is less than forgiving of its frank content and outlook on the military...tough to get the Academy to support something so brutally honest.