Perfect balance between art and entertainment makes worthy Oscar winner

Rating: Null/10 (14 March 2010)

Critics call this the best Iraq war movie to-date, for good reasons. Without grand rhetoric or overwrought war-horror, it is a realistic, close-up (in more ways than one) of the lives of three soldiers during their last month of a duty rotation in Baghdad, in a succession of missions in the city and neighbouring deserts.
Starting with a quote from New York Times former war correspondent Chris Hedges: "War is a drug", the movie plunges into a nail-biting sequence of a bomb defuse mission, through POV-inducing hand-held cameras (which is used only one more time in the rest of the movie, a very wise decision), expert editing, deployment of close-up as well as long shots, all backed with drum roll, pulsating-heart music. The remarking thing is that the audience does not feel for a moment that these scenes are manipulative or contriving because these are no cheap tricks to create unrealistic tension. Instead, they are taken right into midst of the endeavour of this three-man team, an endeavour that ended in tragedy, the death of their leader demolition expert, a cameo role taken up gracefully by Guy Pearce.
Thus we plunge into the story when eccentric Staff Sergeant Will James is brought in as a replacement. The next sequence right away highlights the interesting contrast of the three members. Sergeant JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) is anything but eccentric, something vital for his role in the team as the protector of the hero in the front line negotiating the bomb. Staying back outside the dangerous "death zone", he monitors everything around the scene while James focuses on a most intricate set of wires that becomes the thin line between life and a hideous death. Rookie Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) completes this trio, and it soon becomes apparent that "specialist" spells glorified errand boy. Upon arriving at the first scene of action, and to Sanborn's annoyance, James loses no time in demonstrating that he is the sort of charismatic character that laughs in the face of death, literally. The mission is accomplished with confident skill despite James' recklessness that verge on suicidal. Those are the initial broad brush portrays of these characters that continue to be developed and enriched throughout the movie.
The next mission, to disarm a load-full of explosives in the trunk of a car, takes James further along this persona, as he completely removed his heavy protective gears during the job, quibbling casually, "If I am to die, I'd rather die when dressed comfortably" (something to that effect). As expected, the conflict between James and Sanborn sharpens while Eldridge watches helplessly. But signs also gradually emerge that there is method in James' madness and control underneath his recklessness.
The turning point is another mission, apparently quite easy, that takes them into the nearby desert. An ambush by sharp-shooters turns out to be just as lethal as a bomb to be defused. This is the longest sequence in the movie. The long drawn out endurance contest with the enemy, under scorching desert heat, brings out the best of the protagonists as well as cement their comradeship (and friendship). Sanborn is reaffirmed as the solidly dependable professional, cautious, level-headed, if adhering rigidly to protocol. James' gentler side surfaces, as he handles Eldridge's awkward inexperience with patient mentorship. With lips cracking dry, he also offers the juice Eldridge pass him to Sanborn first before taking his own sips. Eldridge also rises to the occasion, responding with steady maturity when given a crucial job to handle a sniper that has flanked to their back.
As we understand more and more about our heroes, the movie becomes more intriguing. More characters emerge such as a smart, enterprising (selling DVDs) native kid who James befriends, and an army doctor who, despite lack of real experience at the front line, is Eldridge's adviser on emotional problems. The fiendish device of the human bomb is given some rather gruesome treatment. There are casualties, lethal and otherwise, as well as dramatic conflict and poignancy. All these are accompanied by first-rate action, but in this piece of Kathryn Bigelow's masterful work, action is not mindless, but rather a coherent part of an artistic cinematic achievement that fully deserves the six Oscars it win, including Bigelow's distinction as the first woman to win Best Director.
At the end of the movie, after a few very brief scenes of domestic bliss with wife (or girlfriend, doesn't really matter) and baby in supermarket, kitchen and family room (in that order), James is back in Iraq, starting all over again his 365-day duty rotation. War may not be drug to every soldier (certainly not Sanborn). But to James, it's all too clear. But it's neither overzealous patriotism nor bloodthirstiness that drives him. He is a born artist as well as top professional in his field, and as long as bombs are to be defused, his place is there. To most people (probably the majority) the search for a reason for existence is hopelessly elusive. For fortunate James, that is never a problem. No wonder he is sometimes flamboyant to the point of recklessness on the job.