The Hurt Locker: (finally!) an Iraq War movie done right!

Rating: 9/10 (2 August 2009)

If I could describe Kathryn Bigelow's latest movie, "The Hurt Locker", in one word, it would be: authentic. This is an Iraq War movie that neither glorifies nor condemns the conflict; it simply shows it. This film provides a glimpse into the lives of three soldiers that dismantle bombs for a living, a dangerous job inside an already dangerous job. Everything feels real - from the landscape to the way the soldiers talk and the weapons they carry. Consider the way one soldier breathes when wearing a several-pound mask. We, the viewers, have been transported to Iraq yet, unlike the real-life soldiers, we get the opportunity to experience it all from the safety of our own home or our hometown theater.
The you-are-there realism of the movie must be, in large part, contributed to director Kathryn Bigelow, who must surely be up for an Oscar nomination for her work here. She manages to sustain the tension and audience's interest throughout a movie where the same thing essentially happens over and over, albeit with small complications arising each time. While there are some stylized moments, they are far and few in between and she never hesitated to show a scene in its grittiest, most realistic state. Nothing is glossed over and every moment is raw and intense. Much of this is enhanced by the work of Barry Ackroyd, the cinematographer that also worked on Paul Greengrass's terrific United 93, and by the music, which is used sparingly throughout the film but is always effective when it does crop up.
Credit must also go to Mark Boal, who co-produced and wrote the screenplay. Boal drew from his own experiences as a journalist in Iraq for the script, and his knowledge of the Iraq War as it is in reality greatly enhances the movie. There is one particular scene that jumps to mind where one of the soldiers is forced to clean blood off ammunition with his own spit so that the blood does not jam the bullets in the gun. It also shows in his portrayal of the soldiers themselves, in the dialogue and the very psychological state of their minds. He depicts them as complex individuals and chooses to focus solely on the way they look at the war, as a lifestyle, never letting politics or ideologies interfere.
Said soldiers would never have been quite as convincing without a talented cast to portray them. According to rumors, Colin Farrell, William Dafoe and Charlize Theron were originally set to star. Kathryn Bigelow later dismissed those rumors, insisting that she had always intended to cast unknowns. While I think the above actors are talented, Bigelow made the right move in using little-known actors. Because we do not see their faces on magazines by the check-out counters in every grocery store, it is easy to believe that these men are actually soldiers; they look like soldiers. As the central protagonist, team leader and adrenaline addict Staff Sergeant William James, Jeremy Renner does a brilliant job and should get, at the very least, Oscar consideration for his performance. He plays James with reckless bravado but just enough sensitivity to allow the audience to feel his character's inner turmoil and struggles. Renner has - justly - garnered magnificent praise for his performance, yet it occasionally overshadows his costars. Brian Geraghty and Anthony Mackie as Specialist Owen Eldridge and Sergeant JT Sanborn, respectively, both deliver convincing, engaging and often touching performances. While the central characters are all portrayed by unknowns, Bigelow got a couple of more famous actors for cameos. Guy Pearce is Sergeant Matt Thompson, an EOD team leader and James's predecessor, in the opening sequence, and Ralph Fiennes appears as the leader of a team of contracted, British mercenaries. Evangeline Lilly, who is most well-known for her skillful, heartrending portrayal as Kate in ABC's phenomenal, hit-show Lost, shows up in a few short scenes as Will James's wife, Connie. All three do solid jobs, managing to inject their characters with distinctive personalities in the short screen time they are allotted yet never stealing the scene from the main actors as A-listers in cameos often do.
The Hurt Locker, visually striking in addition to its expert direction, writing and acting, is arguably the best war movie of this decade. The movie delves in the psyche of the soldiers with unapologetic yet insightful intensity, and the result is best summed up by a phrase in the quote that opens the movie: "War is a drug." This is demonstrated most powerfully in the quietest scene of the movie: Staff Sergeant Will James, home from combat, surveys a vast aisle of cereal while at the supermarket with his wife and child. Without any dialogue, Jeremy Renner and Kathryn Bigelow somehow convey the soldier's exact thoughts and feelings to the audience, his sense of ennui with the mundane comforts and simplicity of civilian life after the exhilaration of disarming bombs in Iraq. We feel this with him, and suddenly, we understand. The men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces do not necessarily return to combat because of their patriotism or ideals, but because they cannot figure out how to transition back to normal life, because they are addicted to war - or, perhaps more specifically, the rush that comes with putting your life on the line every day.
In one scene, Specialist Eldridge has a one-on-one conversation with Colonel John Cambridge (played by Christian Camargo), who tries to counsel the younger soldier. Eldridge argues that Cambridge should not be trying to tell him how to feel or how to cope with the stresses of EOD work because you cannot understand what he and his fellow team members go through unless you experience it yourself. Perhaps he is right, that we cannot understand what soldiers do and why unless we physically enter the field of combat. But, with The Hurt Locker, we are at least a step closer.