tension throughout

Rating: 10/10 (6 November 2005)

Tension. Tension between wanting to do your job and wanting to do anything to get out of the sand. Tension between wanting to kill and being repulsed by the very idea of killing. Tension between the disgust you feel for the inescapable vulgarness of certain others and the realization of how close any one of us is to that same vulgarity.
The exaggerated tension of wartime is what Mendes displays brilliantly in "Jarhead". You feel, intensely, the conflicted emotions and thoughts that are unavoidable in the situation that so many soldiers have found themselves in, whether in Iraq, Viet Nam or WWII Europe/Pacific.
Mendes does such a brilliant job of evoking that tension in this movie that I had to give it a 10 even as I admit that there were shortcomings in certain areas. The movie overcame all of the shortcomings in my mind. Certain parts came out of nowhere without any warning or further development. I'm guessing that some of that development is on the cutting room floor, as the movie is long already. I'd like to see the director's cut.
The biggest hurdle for me was accepting Gyllenhaal as a twenty year old. That's not to say that he didn't do an outstanding job, he did. I just think that his physical and emotional maturity betrayed some of even greater sympathy that could be due a young soldier in the situation presented.
The emotional letdown of the ending is actually what ties one to the character in a way that could not be done otherwise. I think that it is a major part of the genius of the film.