a movie, like it's lead character, in inner conflict

Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2005)

I can't deny that Sam Mendes's new film Jarhead has some power to it- that he and his director of photography (Roger Deakins) create some immensely evocative images, or that there isn't a little thought stirring around within the context of the story and premise. But my problem with it was in something that has kept other war films of years past afloat (though this time more a film about the Marines than any sort of 'war')- there's some sense of emotional connection with the characters. There's something sort of, well, empty at times with the film's situations and details and characters. I can't say either that 'not a lot happens', because in the sense of it being a character study there is...though on the other hand, there isn't. It's like there is a great film stirring around inside of the film's core, but Mendes is more often than not here going for amazement with the lens as opposed with characters that one can really care about. I'm not saying others won't, in a way it has the makings of a true 'cult' movie (not unlike one of its main influences, Full Metal Jacket- almost disgustingly so). On the one hand I think that things like atmosphere, composition, style especially in some bursts (there is one scene where the soldiers come upon a 'burnt' scene that is the most staggering in the film, maybe the best overall), maybe even Oscar-worthy. However, from a director who's past two films were far more engaging on their stories and characters, this is a bit disappointing.
As I said, I didn't dislike the film, in fact at times some of the acting tried to suffice (and sometimes not). Jake Gyllenhaal's Anthony "Swoff" Swofford is a performance of some brilliance, if some over-doing. He's come a bit of ways since his Donnie Darko days, though one wishes that he could tap a little more into Swoff, with his Camus fascination and its projection onto the arid, boring desert life of Saudi Arabia. Stellan Saarsgard as his 'friend' Troy, a fellow 'bad-ass' kind of Marine, gives maybe the better of the performances of the main crop, adding a certain tenderness (or vulnerability) to the part, behind his mostly rough exterior. Jamie Foxx plays himself, only with a Sergeant frame of mind this time. And there is an assortment of supporting players rounding up the lot, with a mix that ranges from being fascinating to odd to downright conventional. There are times when the actors do try and make things entertaining, and it is (the "interviews" sequence is funny, if again a FMJ take-off). It's just the 'heavy-ness' that gets it down in the end. I would see this movie again, and I was glad I saw it, but I can't recommend it as highly as I wish I could.