Review: Jarhead

Set in the early 90s, Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) enlists in the marines like his father before him (and his father’s father before him) and is sent to fight in the Gulf War as a trained sniper. The film shows us his experience there, having been trained hard he and his comrades feel the frustration and boredom of waiting around to get into the action they have been trained for. Jamie Foxx (in fine character acting form, after his Oscar win for portraying Ray Charles not long before this film) is the tough Staff Sergeant who trains the men to become, it seems, identical killing machines (yup, Foxx gets to be R. Lee Ermey for a while and dehumanise the troops). Peter Sarsgaard plays Gyllenhaal’s pal and also his spotter. Chris Cooper plays the commanding officer, and Dennis Haysbert has a funny supporting role as a major Gyllenhaal is unfortunate enough to encounter whilst on latrine duty.

Rock-solid 2005 mixture of “Full Metal Jacket” and “Three Kings” from Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”, “Road to Perdition”), was shot down (sorry! Really I am!) by some for not really taking a stance on war either way, to which I simply say phooey! Why does every war movie have to take a stance on the war itself? And, actually, any film that successfully makes one feel the boredom (you didn’t think war was just fighting all day and night did you? Certainly not the first Gulf War, which was fought mostly in the air), frustration, and insanity and lack of clarity in war, in my view pretty much is taking a position anyway. It’s not taking a position on the specific war it depicts (I like to call it The Gulf War- Episode One: The Iraqi Menace), but you can’t say it’s not actually saying something about war overall. It’s crazy, doesn’t make much sense, isn’t terribly exciting (the film itself is never dull, though), and turns people into emotionless killers who often come home psychologically tortured. More than any film since “Platoon”, this film gives you a true sense of the actual war experience for soldiers, and not just the experience of violent battle.

But the film isn’t all heavy, there’s actually quite a bit of humour in the film (particularly Foxx’s first scene or two and almost any scene involving the latrines), and Gyllenhaal is always a likeable and underrated screen presence (the entire film is well-acted, though some characters lack depth). Terrific cinematography too by Roger Deakins (“The Shawshank Redemption”, “Dead Man Walking”), with a breathtaking scene involving oil fields a particularly striking image. The screenplay is by William D. Broyles Jr (“Flags of Our Fathers”, “Apollo 13”, “Cast Away”)., from the autobiography by Anthony Swofford.

Rating: B-