Review: The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker is the newest in what I consider the new generation of war movies. The trend of the last fifteen years has been to focus on World War II era drama films while largely ignoring the Korean or Vietnam Wars. Perhaps embracing one of the most hot-button issues in today's world, there has been a recent emergence of media dealing with the contemporary war in Iraq as well as Operation: Desert Storm. I imagine the latter has also seen a popularity boost because some creative minds may find it easier to comment on a situation that has already concluded than one that is not only ongoing, but also very sensitive in our culture. The Hurt Locker continues the trend of both Sam Mendes' Jarhead and HBO's adaptation of Generation Kill in what I like to refer to as the 'desert war film'. Unlike the more or less historical depictions of soldiers fighting in the Second World War, modern war movies are more inclined to get inside the heads of the soldiers fighting. This is an interesting and unique take, but all the more understandable given the fact that the veterans of these battles are in ready and abundant supply. Films about modern war run the tenuous line of being analytical and being preachy. Either way it's a unique time to not only be making these kinds of films, but to also be watching them.

The basic premise of The Hurt Locker is the examination of an elite bomb diffusal squad stationed in Iraq circa 2004. The opening scene of the film takes strides to establish just how paranoid and volatile this warzone was five years ago where bombs are planted in the middle of busy roads hidden under trash, and it seems like any Iraqi bystander could be a threat. The scene puts the viewer in the headspace it needs to be for the rest of the film; one which anything can happen at a moment's notice and death may only be one mistake or moment away. To a large degree this tone helps establish the mind set one has to be in just to be present in that kind of warzone, let alone to be the person who diffuses explosives at point blank range. We are introduced to the centerpiece of the movie, Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner), fairly early in the film, and how he interacts with his squad mates JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) is the core of the film. Each soldier embodies a different archetype: James is the devil-may-care type who seems unaffected by his dangerous work, Sanborn is the straight laced, no-nonsense man of duty, and Eldridge is the somewhat naive, good-hearted yet frayed soldier in need of guidance. While this may seem fairly common in terms of characterization, the way in which these men interact throughout the course of the film not only informs the audience of their psyches, but each other's as well.

Right away, it's clear this movie is fairly somber in mood. There are no overly happy moments where our characters are carefree and overtly cheery, but the movie does well to avoid wallowing in melodrama. Instead the movie seems to provide an honest portrayal of what life in an increasingly hostile environment would be, and probably is, like. Moreso than any movie of its kind in recent memory, The Hurt Locker effortlessly puts the viewer in the mindset of it's characters. I found myself dwelling on the stakes of their plight as well as the kind of thoughts you have to have and suppress to prevent total panic more than once throughout the movie's slightly overlong two hours. As the movie progresses, we also see how Sergeant James deals with the same thoughts. Beginning as essentially a man who does not seem to care what happens to him as long as he's safe and does his job, actor Renner is able to portray a man helplessly attracted to the thrill of living in that moment between life and death. More than once we see how the pressure catches up to him and he is believably overcome with the extremity of the situations he finds himself in, only to bottle it up and return to duty seemingly unaffected. It's effective characterization for one can not help but wonder what effort of will or conscience it takes to see the things some of these soldiers see and walk away unshaken.

In the end the movie wraps up and we are treated briefly to James back home in the USA. Perhaps the most damningly effective and informative part of the movie, we see how he copes with the mundane facets of everyday life that are so far away from the explosions, gunshots, and death of Iraq. We also see how the adrenaline high of being a bomb technician has taken any of the color out of his day to day life. The viewer also finds themself wondering whether it really is the rush of the job or instead the horrors he's witnessed that have left him so singular in his interest. At the end of the movie it's hard to peg this film as any one thing. On a level it is a look into the minds of the men and women who find themselves in a constant flux of moments between life and death. On another it's about the way war or even living surrounded by constant death can numb a person emotionally and mentally. This movie succeeds on both of those fronts to be sure and the best thing to be said about it is that it makes one think. In a cinema climate where producing the most shocking visuals can sometimes be paramount to actually saying something with the art, The Hurt Locker presents its subject matter in an inobtrusive way that leaves the analyzation almost exclusively to the audience.


As an aside, I have to say that the above poster does not evoke an iota of the tone of the movie it represents. In fact, I would almost say this poster is the farthest thing from an accurate representation of the film, opting more for an edgy, almost action oriented take on what is more or less a character study. Hmph.