Almost unbearable, for all the right reasons

Rating: 9/10 (28 November 2014)

April, 1945. The war is ending. Deep in enemy territory, our five protagonists command a tank, including a rookie who has to be quickly broken early on, because it's the only way he can be of any use to them. A Sherman, widely regarded as the weakest type for the time, extremely vulnerable not only to enemy equivalents, but also infantry-held Panzerfaust. This bears similarities to Das Boot – narrow focus on the claustrophobic, heavy death-trap, with us trapped in an oppressive atmosphere, seeing the ugliness and the filth. We don't get a plot, in spite of a series of events presented in chronological order, we're seeing men carrying out their duty, and we, like they, get to know this small group, with the macho culture, black comedy and tight bond they form in this awful situation. And if we didn't have that, this would be unwatchable – it's simply too nasty.
David Ayer directs his first period piece here, bringing his inside understanding of L.A. gangs, especially the interpersonal relationships and fatalism, his unflinching determination to show every miserable aspect, to this, and makes it look effortless. I hope this is the first of many times he plays around with his honed formula – End of Watch gave us a POV take on it, and this shares its intensity and immersiveness. Every second of this, you can smell the filth. There are occasional brief glimpses of something outside of the soul-crushing reality of their daily life. These never truly feel like anything other than escapist fantasy, and soon enough, we, and they, wake up. The action scenes aren't entertaining, they are just the release of the anxious undercurrent. You feel awful for the relief when a German dies, in spite of it being an actual "us or them", of hesitation meaning one's own death. The ending does lose us.
There is constant violent, bloody, gory and disturbing content and strong language, as well as some hinted at sexuality in this. I recommend this to anyone who genuinely thinks they can tolerate it... it will make you think twice about war. 9/10