A Compelling Character Study

Rating: 8/10 (6 November 2005)

First there was American Beauty, a touching comedic drama about suburban family life. Then there was Road To Perdition, a masterful Prohibition-era gangster film. And now there's Jarhead, a unique Gulf War film. I think, with his first three films, director Sam Mendes has proved not only that he is obviously one of the most versatile filmmakers around, but also one of the most talented.
Jarhead is the true story of Swofford (Gyllenhaal), a US Marine who endures the hell of boot camp on the boredom of Operation Desert Storm.
Jarhead takes a very unique and original approach to the war genre. In a sense, it conveys the standard "war is hell" message, but not in the same blood-spattered manner that the likes of Saving Private Ryan or Black Hawk Down did. Instead, the Marines of Jarhead are in hell in the sense that they're bored and lonely. Swofford is afraid, but not for his life, but for what his girlfriend may be doing in his absence. These young men are raging piles of testosterone with no release. Boot camp pumped up their blood-lust to an inhuman degree, and when there are no enemies to kill, all that's left for them to do is screw around and masturbate. Masturbate a lot.
Jarhead strikes me as one of the most realistic depictions of modern war ever printed on celluloid. I don't understand how so many people could be claiming that the film is so inaccurate - after all, the book it is based on was written by a Marine. There is no over-the-top action combat a la Behind Enemy Lines, nor is there constant realistic battle like in Saving Private Ryan - after all, modern warfare is not exactly going to be like World War II. There is actually hardly a single bullet fired throughout the entirety of Jarhead's running time, which is going to be the main factor in causing multitudes of people to be terribly bored with the film. Let's get one thing straight: this is NOT a film about combat. This is a compelling character study dealing with the effects of military training on the human soul.
Another misconception people seem to be having is that Jarhead has a strong leftist political agenda. While it is certainly not a pro-war film, I wouldn't necessarily say it is anti-war, either. It really just shows war as it is, like Full Metal Jacket. And keep in mind, this is only through the eyes of one Marine.
Though it features no actual combat, Jarhead still contains some extremely affecting scenes, and one that is actually very hard to watch, that being a scene in which a Marine sits down to watch a VHS copy of The Deer Hunter that his wife sent to him, only to find that she has spliced in footage of her having sex with another man. Watching the husband's reaction is a very difficult task. I found myself so deeply affected by this scene that I actually felt a little sick and had a hard time moving on as the film kept rolling.
However, Jarhead is certainly not an unrelenting downer. There is a great deal of scathing humor, almost to the point of making the film a very dark comedy.
Mendes really does show off some remarkable talent here, as he did in his two previous films. And the acting...wow, it's phenomenal. Jake Gyllenhaal delivers his most impressive performance to date, as does Peter Sarsgaard. Chris Cooper is great as always, though underused, and Jamie Foxx gives a wonderful, nuanced performance, and that's saying a lot, as up until this film I found him to be one of the most overrated actors in recent memory. The rest of the supporting cast is excellent, as well.
Though I did not find the score to be particularly good, the soundtrack here is magnificent. On top of PERFECTLY utilizing Nirvana's highly underrated gem "Something In The Way", Jarhead also features Tom Waits' "Soldier's Things", an instrumental version of Kanye West's "Jesus Walks", and many others.
If you're looking for an action-packed war film, don't go to Jarhead. However, if you're looking for a stunningly different portrait of human beings in the military, this one's for you.
8/10