Felt Almost Like A Documentary

Rating: 8/10 (25 July 2009)

One word sums up this film: Real. This is, by far, one of the most realistic movies I've ever seen, and in that sense, it felt almost like a documentary. And that's a good thing. I've seen war movies before. Some good and some bad. I've seen war movies that have effectively tried to convey the way things really are, and have been successful in doing so. But this is the first time I've seen one that actually made me feel like I was there. From the very intense opening, Kathryn Bigelow grabs the audience and does not let them go. She beautifully and meticulously examines the complex realities of war, and she does it in two main ways. First, she does it by providing viewers with an up close and personal experience with combat. Second, and on a deeper level, she examines the effects that war can have on the psyche of a soldier. It's the latter that is the most heartbreaking. When Jeremy Renner's William James gets to go home for a period of time, we can see that he is not ready to be integrated back into society. The cereal isle scene in the super market is especially effective. For him, war has become, as the quote says, a drug. And he's not ready to come down from that high. This is a powerful motion picture, and one that will stay with me for some time to come.