Inside a Jarhead

Rating: 6/10 (9 November 2005)

There is a very poignant scene at the end of Sam Mendes' adaptation of Anthony Swofford's Desert Storm memoir "Jarhead." In this scene a bus-load of marines are shown returning home from the first Gulf War, the USA-spearheaded liberation of Kuwait. The marines are being celebrated via your run-of-the-mill parade down Main Street, USA. As their bus rolls slowly down that street an older, disheveled, weather-beaten veteran, wearing what seems to be his original, U.S. Marines-issued khaki jacket, suddenly boards the moving bus. Stammering but coherent he imparts his congratulations to the returning marines, repeating the motto of the US Marine Corps, "Semper Fi" ("always faithful"), repeatedly. After shaking hands with a few of the marines seated in the forefront of the bus he asks if he can take a seat and ride along with them. Though no one answers him directly he takes a seat behind the bus driver.
Throughout this scene Mendes carefully monitors the reaction of "Swoff" (Jake Gyllenhaal), the 20-yr-old "jarhead" whose story we've followed since his enlistment into the US Marines. His immediate reaction is one of surprise. No doubt, like the other marines on the bus, initially he wasn't quite sure as to who the guy was or what his intentions were. But, once the veteran made it clear that he wanted only to congratulate the returning marines on their good work, Swoff's initial alarmed demeanor settled into a shifting feeling of horrified embarrassment.
Embarrassment because during his short three-month stint serving as a sharp-shooter he never shot his rifle. Horrified because despite this sharp-shooting inactivity, and lack of authentic combat duty, he still managed a nervous breakdown and a hearty dose of post-war syndrome. With but a few glances at the troubled veteran Swoff innately understood that, for all intents and purposes, he hadn't been through much at all. Certainly nothing compared to what the veteran had survived. Yet, Swoff's brief war experience had permanently dented his psyche.
How one reacts to that scene will tell you much about whether or not they liked this film, which is, ostensibly, the story, not a war story, about a 20-yr-old US Marine and his experience with the US Military during Desert Storm. Those who liked the film will probably have some degree of empathy for the veteran and Swoff. Those who did not like the film will probably believe that both got what they deserved when they embarked in their respective military endeavors. I believe this to be true because "Jarhead" is not a war movie, nor a political film, nor a polemical film, nor an ensemble film that follows a few characters in great depth. As simple as the title infers, it is the story of one person: Swoff. You'll either empathize with him or you won't. Take him or leave him. (Just as simple as that, in the story, his girlfriend back in the state drops him like a three foot putt.)
This is not to say that Mendes' film lacks other qualities. Towards the latter part of the film his depiction of the Marines advancing across the desert towards a handful of oil-spewing, blazing oil refineries is spectacular. Touching too the arrival of an oil-slicked, short-of-breath, soon-to-die horse that Swoff gently strokes before the horse staggers off into the desert. Mendes also depicts the bombed ruins of a seemingly endless procession of civilian-packed vehicles that were singed via a precision military strike. The ghastly remains of that violent act cause Swoff to vomit.
I found Swoff's story, and Mendes' depiction of it, mildly compelling.
After all, this is the coming-of-young-age story of a 20-yr-old enlisted in a stereotypical, close-knit military society encouraging every testosterone-fueled emotion, dream, insight, action, and reaction imaginable. We've seen this tale told in countless "war movies," from "Full Metal Jacket" to "Meatballs." Mendes should have spared us the derivative training sequences and focused more on ancillary exposition giving us more insight in Swoff: what makes him tick, his family, etc.
Instead we are left to take Swoff, as is, in the present time. With not much to go on I found it hard to empathize with him. War is hell. He should have known that training for it and waiting for it would be hell in the suck as well.