This must be said straight off: Kathryn Bigelow is amazing. There is no disputing this fact. Why you say? Namely due to her 30 year career of unique films which has garnered a healthy cult following, including the fantastically original take on the vampire genre with 1987s Near Dark (which i must add, SHOULD have shat all over the box office attention Joel Schumacher’s Lost Boys garnered the same year), the 1991 testosterone induced adrenaline rush that was the classic Point Break, the excellent sci-fi trip that was 1995s Strange Days and also 2001s underappreciated historical tale that was K-19: The Widowmaker. What all these films have in common is the fact they all tell the stories small groups of people, most of which are men, in the backdrop of a bigger landscape/society/conflict. She provides a unique voice as a director, albiet a female director, a breed of director who is heavily outnumbered by the opposite sex, with the versatility to present male dominated stories in a fashion that puts most male directors to shame.
With her latest, The Hurt Locker, it proves to be another addition to her formula, and what a film this is! After finally being released after two years in the making, The Hurt Locker makes for more proof of how amazing Kathryn Bigelow truly is, and finally, with the immense attention the film has garnered both through audiences, critics and the bags of awards, finally the heavily underrated Kathryn Bigelow is given the great worldwide kudos she so deserves.
Within the previous decade, there has been numerous attempts to grasp the true reality of war in the middle east during the various conflicts over the last 20 years. However most have fallen on deaf-ears, the best possibly being David O. Russell’s Three Kings and Sam Mendes’ Jarhead. On top of this, these films focused on the first conflicts in the Middle East and therefore a good film showing the true nature of post-9/11 warfare and its effects have truly been non-existent. Enter The Hurt Locker, a film that not only brings the true reality of war in contempory Iraq, but also transcends this, making an unbiased film that addresses the issue of war itself, the true effects, the human effects, the way it can become a drug, what war does to man and what man does to war and himself, that can be applied universally throughout history in any conflict.
Written by Mark Boal, who spent time in Iraq with a bomb disposal unit, The Hurt Locker tells the story of a (you guessed it) bomb disposal unit in Iraq, who, after the explosive death their previous team leader, recieve a new leader in the form of SGG William James (Jermey Renner), who is a ruthlessly fearless bomb disposalist, whose unorthadox methods of bomb disposal and warfare concern and amaze his comrades. The film follows this group through a series of conflicts that truly present the true beast that is war, one made of an intense paranoia of death every step of the way, in a place that proves to be strange and alien to most. Therefore it makes for a truly frightening, tense, but ultimately satisfying experience.
Save for such known actors such as Guy Pearce, David Morse, Ralph Fiennes and Evangeline Lily (who are sprinkled around the film in small cameo roles), the film focuses on relative unknowns. Jeremy Renner, who has been previously seen in the great sequel 28 Weeks Later (also in military form) and The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, but to most audiences is a stranger, in turn a fastastic thing for this film. His SGG William James is a great, meaty character who you cannot help but like, with his crazy calm on the battleground seeming as if it were just another day in the office. His sarcasm and quick humour makes his character a quick audience favourite. In reality, audiences shouldnt like such a character, so explosive (ZING) and cocky, but really makes for not only a likeable hero who is in the right profession, but underneath a deeply disturbed victim of war, one who also is quite human and sometimes compassionate. Its a layered character and a layered performance, and Renner does this seemingly with great ease and authenticity. There is no doubt that he will become a huge acting presence in years to come, which i for one, welcome.
Other important members of the team, Sgt. JT Sanborn, played by Andrew Mackie, and Spc. Owen Eldridge, played by Brian Geraghty, make for excellent support. Sanborn is presented wonderfully by Mackie as an uptight, by the book soldier, who, over the course of the film realises that war truly isn’t by the book (as James seems to instinctively understand). Eldridge makes for an great element of innocence and naivity which is slowly destroyed thoughout the film, his mere name Owen, shows this, making for a heartbreaking display of the cost of war.
Filmed in Jordon, boardering the real warzone, the film boasts an excellent authenticity, not to mention having access to authentic weaponery and gear, such as the bomb suits and vehicles. The cinematography is presented doco-style, though use of the oft-used contempory camera style of shaky cam. While most films that employ this method cause a great discomfort and amatureness to the film, here it works wonderfully, done in a professional way that doesnt make you sick, but rather constantly on edge, as the film aims for you to be. It shows great coverage of the environment and the world these soldiers are stuck within, especially the way in which the people of Iraq are seen as mysterious people who seem constantly watching the soldiers, which is truly gripping stuff. It also captures numerous memorable shots, such as James as he sits alone on his bed with his helmet on. (FUN FACT: Nearly two hundred hours of footage was shot at an eye-popping 100:1 shooting ratio, a higher ratio of expended film than the notorious huge production that was Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now).
The editing of the film too is also great, not only keeping up the pace, but also inserting some small fantastic moments of slow-motion which capture various events, highlighting it, letting the audience see the small details, such as the big explosion at the beginning of the film, the falling bullet in the sniper scene, to the falling raindrops off the roof near the end. The sound design is also great, with each sound seemingly crisp and natural, especially the gun shots. The soundtrack is subtle but very atmospheric, really adding much to the feel of the film.
In the end, this is a damn fine film in almost every way, firmly placing it aside some of the great war films, such as Apocalypse Now, The Deer Hunter, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line. It is gripping from the very beginning to the very end, keeping you on the edge of the seat with your eyes glued firmly to the screen. Its a film that has great longevity and makes for a great historical piece. Kathryn Bigelow, again i say, you are amazing.
5/5
