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Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
07/27/2009 War films about U.S. soldiers in Iraq aren’t exactly box office gold mines. Moviegoers tend to spend their summers watching wizards and superheroes, not dramatic reminders of what goes on in far-off countries. However, audiences should make an exception with The Hurt Locker. Despite its sensitive subject matter (and its admittedly odd title), this is not only a memorable war film, it’s one of the best things to come out of 2009 so far. Several things about the movie just work, but none perhaps as obvious as lead actor Jeremy Renner. Playing Staff Sergeant William James, a reckless young bomb squad specialist who takes over after the untimely death of Sergeant Matt Thompson (Guy Pearce, who you wish had more screen time), Renner’s charm and nonchalance win us over instantly. But in addition to playing a convincing loose cannon, Renner injects an equal amount of realism into William James as a leader. Wild as the sergeant may seem, we don’t doubt his abilities to command a bomb squad. It’s a performance such as this that makes you wonder why you’ve never heard of this guy before. Half Nelson’s Anthony Mackie and Bobby’s Brian Geraghty likewise pull their own weight. Playing Sergeant JT Sanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge, respectively, the two create an effective dialogue with one another that’s fun to watch. And great as Renner is as the lead (and he really is something to see), it’s when the three men are together that some of the movie’s best moments are captured. Take, for example, the scene in which James refuses to leave a wired car in the middle of enemy territory. Watching the actors play off each other makes for some fine spectator viewing. Along with Pearce, many other well-known celebrities make appearances in the film that are so brief, they’re practically cameos. David Morse’s only moment with Renner feels like it could go on for minutes without getting old, but it’s cut off before the scene begins to develop some real teeth. Ralph Fiennes makes the most of his small part as a team leader determined to collect a reward on some captured enemy combatants. And Lost’s Evangeline Lilly plays Renner’s wife. There isn’t much to her part, honestly, but when is it ever a bad time to look at her face? Box office receipts aside, a major reason so many other films about Iraq failed had to do with their stories. Simply put, they weren’t interesting. Enter Mark Boal’s script about a relatively dysfunctional bomb squad. It’s both refreshing and original, a rare feat these days in the Iraqi war movie genre. You don’t get the political speeches or analogies about the purpose of war. You get what you ask for: a film about the men and women in harm’s way, not the people who put them there. The film’s tension buildup is fantastically orchestrated, and just as No Country for Old Men did in 2007, the lack of a prominent music score only adds to the effectiveness of the movie’s thrills. From the nicely organized shots to the pacing of the film as a whole, very little here does not work. So really, if anyone deserves the lion’s share of the credit (even more than Renner), it’s director Kathryn Bigelow, who proves that when it comes to making good war movies, the girls can make them just as good as the guys. I guess after several years of testosterone-filled flops, we’ve finally established what the genre needed: a woman’s touch. Comments [post a comment]
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Friday, February 10, 2012
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