Dir: Kathryn Bigelow, USA, 2009, 124 mins
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce, David Morse, Evangeline Lilly.
Review by Hemanth Kissoon
The Hurt Locker has been on the high anticipation radar for a while now, not only for having an interesting cast who make solid choices, but also as the latest film from the best female action director of all time (Point Break, Near Dark, Blue Steel and Strange Days). Could this be the sharp and zinging combat film we have been waiting for?
The best war films are surely those that are specific to the war being discussed, from which extrapolations can be made to a wider context, enabling different theatres of war to be compared and contrasted. However looking at the movies set in the Middle East that have come out of Hollywood in the last four year, war has not of late proved to be a great inspiration for film makers. The same old clichés and simplistic musings on conflict are being rolled out endlessly. There must be a good film on the “War on Terror, that oft used term which encompasses Afghanistan , Iraq and international terrorism. It is though unfortunately not The Hurt Locker.
The film is not concerned with the origins of the War on Terror or indeed those of the Second Gulf War in Iraq, where the film is set, and it cannot be criticised for that, as what The Hurt Locker is dealing with is the way the war in Iraq is being fought. Its visual style though leaves something to be desired. Cinema verité has evolved over the years from Bertoluci's The Conformist to Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan and Greengrass's Bloody Sunday, but the current, very fashionable, shaky-camera faux war correspondent look is so very over-used. United 93's cinematographer Barry Ackroyd gives a similar “I've left my steadicam” at home feel to this movie, but it is now basically a cliché and instead of lending an air of authenticity, it has the reverse effect of pulling you out of the action.
The Hurt Locker focuses on the minutiae of bomb disposal with a trio of wafer-thin stock characters: the “maverick” Staff Sergeant William James (Renner – 28 Days Later), the cautious one, Sergeant J.T. Sanbourn (Mackie – Million Dollar Baby), and the newbie Specialist Owen Eldridge (Geraghty - Bobby). The opening of the film is extremely tense and well-staged, and there are moments of apprehension after that; but the film overall is forgettable and the characters do not stay with you. At first it appears to be a sort of Lethal Weapon set in Iraq , with the suicidal rebel eventually bonding with his wary colleague. But the characters lack charisma, there is no humour to lighten the situation and heighten the tension and the film also says nothing of note about the human condition.
Casting comparatively low profile actors in the main roles was a clever decision, with no star names, as you do not know who will make it to the finishing line. As a bare-bones thriller this works, but is that enough? There is a subplot with Fiennes as a mercenary, which had it been expanded would have made a far more fascinating film. However, other story threads involving a military psychologist and an Iraqi boy are ill-conceived.
What else is there to say? It is as super-efficient as you'd expect from this director. The team attempt to dispose various bombs, get drunk, get shot at and so on, but where is the depth? Some may say that the film is just about soldiers interacting in high stress situations, but it fails to deliver on that too, as the characters are bland and non-communicative. For that sit down with Generation Kill (from the creators of The Wire, and based on the book by Evan Wright).
The Hurt Locker has been lauded in many quarters, but it has to be asked, is that just because we have been starved of intelligent and perceptive features on this war, which has now been going on for the last six years? Hopefully Paul Greengrass's latest movie Green Zone, starring Matt Damon and based on journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran's Imperial Life in the Emerald City will finally deliver the goods. |
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