Jarhead
- JARHEAD Review:
Caught a free screening of the latest picture from Sam Mendes this weekend, and it definitely turned out to be one of the best movies I've seen over at the Universal lot since starting as a page. Now I've read a lot of reviews of this film that start off by discussing whether or not it's a war movie or whatever, or whether it's political, or whether it's this or that. The bottom line is that this is a very well-acted, well-shot, and beautifully put-together character study of young soldiers, and everything else is secondary. On the other hand, while the movie has no real overt message, political or otherwise, it ultimately does work as a commentary on the Gulf War, and on the pointlessness and futility of war in general, particularly in the modern era where corporate interests and political gain tend to dictate who we fight and why more so than in previous generations of warfare. It's an intense movie, and a thought provoking one at that. But much of the credit has to go to the actors, who are all stellar in their performances. Jake Gyllenhall gives easily his best acting job yet as the lead - a conflicted, tense, confused young "jarhead" who is trying to come to terms with the harsh, alien world of the armed forces that he's been suddenly thrown into and encompassed by. Peter Starsgaard (sp?) is solid as an emotionally bottled-up, slowly-losing-it marine, and of course Jamie Foxx brings badass charisma to the necessary role of take-names and kick-ass drill seargent, in his first real followup to his Oscar-winning role in Ray. Watch out for cameos by Jim from The Office and President Palmer from 24 as well. And oh yeah, Sam Mendes direction is amazing - with stunning images that look like paintings. The arid desert, the burning oil wells in the night, the all-americana of the soldiers returning home - all have a darkly storybook quality about them. But this movie is down and dirty, unrelenting and yet uneventful. Nothing really happens, and that's kind of the point - this is "the suck," where it's more about waiting and hoping for a moment of glory and getting hyped up for a war that is being fought less on the ground and more in the offices. So in that respect the movie never really achieves greatness, because it just lacks a real narrative - it's more a collection of scenes that are etched together to prove a point. But the superb acting of Jake G carries those scenes and weaves them together to form a poignant character study. So no, it's not a great movie, in the real sense of the word great. This isn't a movie that will make you stand up and cheer. What it does it it immerses you in a foreign place - it puts you there in the desert, in "the suck" and almost seems to make you an honorary jarhead. It makes ou feel what the characters on screen are feeling in a way that few other movies I've seen have been able to do, and that is probably it's biggest accomplishment. Not great, but damn good nonetheless, and refreshing in its honesty and realism.
My grade: A -
Caught a free screening of the latest picture from Sam Mendes this weekend, and it definitely turned out to be one of the best movies I've seen over at the Universal lot since starting as a page. Now I've read a lot of reviews of this film that start off by discussing whether or not it's a war movie or whatever, or whether it's political, or whether it's this or that. The bottom line is that this is a very well-acted, well-shot, and beautifully put-together character study of young soldiers, and everything else is secondary. On the other hand, while the movie has no real overt message, political or otherwise, it ultimately does work as a commentary on the Gulf War, and on the pointlessness and futility of war in general, particularly in the modern era where corporate interests and political gain tend to dictate who we fight and why more so than in previous generations of warfare. It's an intense movie, and a thought provoking one at that. But much of the credit has to go to the actors, who are all stellar in their performances. Jake Gyllenhall gives easily his best acting job yet as the lead - a conflicted, tense, confused young "jarhead" who is trying to come to terms with the harsh, alien world of the armed forces that he's been suddenly thrown into and encompassed by. Peter Starsgaard (sp?) is solid as an emotionally bottled-up, slowly-losing-it marine, and of course Jamie Foxx brings badass charisma to the necessary role of take-names and kick-ass drill seargent, in his first real followup to his Oscar-winning role in Ray. Watch out for cameos by Jim from The Office and President Palmer from 24 as well. And oh yeah, Sam Mendes direction is amazing - with stunning images that look like paintings. The arid desert, the burning oil wells in the night, the all-americana of the soldiers returning home - all have a darkly storybook quality about them. But this movie is down and dirty, unrelenting and yet uneventful. Nothing really happens, and that's kind of the point - this is "the suck," where it's more about waiting and hoping for a moment of glory and getting hyped up for a war that is being fought less on the ground and more in the offices. So in that respect the movie never really achieves greatness, because it just lacks a real narrative - it's more a collection of scenes that are etched together to prove a point. But the superb acting of Jake G carries those scenes and weaves them together to form a poignant character study. So no, it's not a great movie, in the real sense of the word great. This isn't a movie that will make you stand up and cheer. What it does it it immerses you in a foreign place - it puts you there in the desert, in "the suck" and almost seems to make you an honorary jarhead. It makes ou feel what the characters on screen are feeling in a way that few other movies I've seen have been able to do, and that is probably it's biggest accomplishment. Not great, but damn good nonetheless, and refreshing in its honesty and realism.
My grade: A -
posted by Danny B at 11:17 PM
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