Ryan McNeil
Alfred Hitchcock’s bomb theory says that showing a bomb under the table transfers the sense of dread from the screen into the minds of every audience member. I would suggest that few films in recent memory have understood that notion better than THE HURT LOCKER.
THE HURT LOCKER is the story of an EOD unit in Iraq (Explosive Ordinance Disposal). These are the people who get tapped when there is suspicion of a bomb; it’s their job to attempt to diffuse the explosive. Seems stressful enough all on it’s own right? Well add in the fact that they need to work in plain sight, surrounded by dozens of locals who could potentially be holding the trigger to the device. You’d have to be at least a little off to sign up for this sort of job, right? Enter Staff Seargent William James (Jeremy Renner).
James is assigned to the unit with less than forty days to go in their tour, and to say he doesn’t click with them right away would be putting things mildly. He’s called “Gangsta”, “Rowdy”, and “A Wild Man”. While they cover his back unquestioningly, his team members Sgt JT Sandborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldrige (Brian Geraghty) constantly fight the urge to smack him over his reckless tendencies. They understand that James works best under pressure, but there’s pressure and then there’s Russian roulette.
Jeremy Renner truly carries this film. The man seems completely unshakable in combat – the sort of soldier who won’t even shoo a fly off his face. Unfortunately, when he takes the armour off, and puts the weapon down, he’s a whole other person. Sadly, it’s the sort of person who makes phone calls but can’t say anything, even though he’s screaming on the inside. While his everyman appearance is what helps sell the part, I do hope that this becomes a star-making role for Renner.
What makes THE HURT LOCKER work so well is that it wants to make a different point than most of the other war films we’ve already seen. Those movies, good and bad alike, often look to remind us that war is hell. This movie on the other hand, takes a different course and tries to emphasize that war is a drug. It presents the idea sometimes the best soldiers for the job, are the ones who get high off the danger that they’re in.
Many soldiers return home from conflict laced with post traumatic stress disorder. Staff Sgt. James however, seems off in a whole other way. The man has ice water in his veins as he stares down a ticking timer, but try to get him to live a normal day-to-day and he falls to bits. It’s that difficulty with human nature that gives the movie some real weight.
THE HURT LOCKER is a movie built entirely out of tension. The characters are the best at what they do, and are sent into the most difficult of situations. Seemingly innocent people are potential killers, and every explosive device they find can quickly become ten times as deadly. There is an omnipresent sense of dread, as the reality of a war where the enemy sets their own rules hits home. It is perhaps the best film about The Iraq War so far, and likewise one of the best movies I’ve seen this year.
LOL – Ironically I was even thinking about calling you this weekend and seeing if you wanted to see this – I've been waiting for it to come out.
So good to hear your thoughts about it.
@ Danger… That's actually pretty funny, because as adept as I am at going to movies alone, I actually felt the urge to have some company for this one.
Shoulda called me!
@ Hatter – that makes us 0 for 2 (because I should have called you when I went to see Let the Right One In)
Will definitely have to give you a shout next time.
My friend saw this the other day and said it was pretty intense. He also said it was one of the better war movies based on Iraq. I might wait for the Blu Ray release simply because Harry Potter comes out this week and I'm probably going to see that a couple times.
@ Farzan… Your friend has good taste. Do yourself a favour, once you've gotten your Potter fix, make a point to see this on the big screen. The movie has a quiet intensity that comes with being immersed in it at a theatre. It might lose a bit of that at home.
" try to get him to live a normal day-to-day and he falls to bits."
That's a key point for me, and as you read in my review, it's one that's more frightening to me than any of the bombs that went off (or didn't go off) in the movie. These guys are coming home addicted to war, and when they can't find it, well how are they going to live?
I have been looking forward to this film for ages. After a positive response at the Edinburgh film festival it is finally going on general release in the UK next month.
@ Daniel… Very true, and even more horrifying is that it's not like this film is a complete work of fiction. Very sad.
@ Fandango… Yeah, I'm hoping the slow roll-out of this film really works in its favour to build good word of mouth. Hope you enjoy it when it finally comes to town! Oh, and not sure how you happened across my humble soapbox, but thanks for reading!