Neither fish nor fowl, and that is the essence of a very real problem with this film

Rating: Null/10 (7 September 2011)

I watch a film and then, for better or worse, look through several reviews here on IMDb. I like to think that none influences me. First, I look at the 'I hated it' category because, oddly, it gives you some perspective on the criteria of how a film is being judged. Then I look at the 'I loved it' category. This, too, is helpful, though not quite as one might initially imagine. Haters and lovers seem both to be at the extremes and, as a general rule, their views can be taken with a pinch of salt. Finally, I look at the most recent reviews, in the assumption that the dust has settled somewhat and that passions, either way, will have cooled. Usually that strategy is quite helpful in clarifying one's thoughts. But in the case of The Hurt Locker none of the reviews, or rather none I read, came anywhere close to touching upon my criticisms. And these are quite complex and touch upon the very essence of film-making (and, believe me, I really hope this doesn't sound pretentious). There are documentaries and then there are films, and once upon a time it was, usually, stylistically easy to distinguish the one from the other. Films, once, were stagy. Documentaries were, once, immediate. And the essence of both, both visually and aurally, was reflected in the style of film-making. But with technologically advance, in filming and sound recording, the obvious distinction between the two has become very blurred. Hand-held cameras and radio recording have allowed the film-maker making the 'commercial' film to produce what is essentially fiction and make it look pretty realistic. And that is the problem. And The Hurt Locker is a very good case in point. It has long been argued that 'dramatic fiction' can get pretty close to the truth. Well, I'm sure it can. But your average punter, sitting in the cinema or watching a DVD has no way of knowing what exactly is what. He is perfectly entitled to ask him or herself: just how truthful is what I am watching? And the pertinent point is that he or she has absolutely no way of knowing. Complete cobblers can look pretty realistic, and satirists have made good use of the fact. So in The Hurt Locker, what is what? Is this fiction? Is this 'dramatic fiction'? Is this more or less en par with documentary. I don't know. And neither do you. One criticism levelled at the film by several of the 'haters' underlines the dilemma: where (the haters ask) is the story? What's the plot? Ms Bigelow might well respond that she was more interested in portraying 'dramatic truth'. Fair enough. But how are we, the punter munching popcorn in the Mid-West or watching the film on a laptop, able to pass judgement? Are we judging another piece of entertainment? Are we just 'enjoying a film'? Are we, on the other hand, seeing what it was like to be an American or Brit soldier serving in Iraq after the war? We just don't know. But your average punter being your average punter, he or she (but given the subject matter far more likely he) will draw quite a few conclusions about 'the war in Iraq' which could well be true and, equally, could well be complete cobblers. The vital point is that we don't know and never will be in a position to know. And that is the problem Ms Bigelow faces. There are further, more profound, problems. The producers weren't, I should think, financing a truthful portrayal of the work the 'Allies' were doing in Iraq. They were, whatever Ms Bigelow managed to portray, financing what, at the end of the day, was intended to turn a buck or two, or three, or four. If, in the process, Ms Bigelow as managed to portray an honest and accurate account of the Western forces' work in Iraq, all well and good. So long as the dollars roll in. And if, on the other hand, she has, despite her work's documentary appearance, simply produced just another gung-ho war film, fair enough. So long as the dollars roll in. The point is that we, the viewer have no way of knowing. And it is that, the viewer's dilemma, which really does count. The Hurt Locker is immensely watchable. But that, at the end of the day, says pretty much nothing at all.