The Hurt Locker (2008)

During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.

Sam’s Review

The Hurt Locker is an uncompromising look into a U.S. soldier's life in the Iraq War. Jeremy Renner plays Sergeant First Class William James, the new team leader to a U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit. Instantly his reckless attitude clashes with Sergeant J.T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty), who round out James' team and have just over a month left of active duty. Their relationship is intricate. They’re bonded by their uniform, and yet there is almost a hatred brewing, especially between Sanborn and James. James has a love of the game, clearly. He's a maverick that relishes the thrill of death. Whilst Sanborn is eager to minimise risk and complete the mission. The tension, not just between the unit, but between the soldiers and the Iraqi citizens, is palpable. Certain exchanges, involving fast-paced yelling, the camera bouncing from one shot to another as if trying to figure out what is happening, gets the heart pumping. Each decision is life and death. Can you live with yourself if you pull the trigger? Will you live if you don't? It's shot phenomenally. Each frame is stripped bare. Just yellow dust clogging the screen, with run-down buildings and the occasional rock pile completing the aesthetics. The visceral rawness to the visuals sets the tone. It also enhances the film, and the acting. Without the 'shininess' to which most modern movies cling, this film gets to dig deep into substance. You can see the awe in James' expression as he faces a bomb threat, and feel his pain as he worries that a child has been killed. Eldridge's fear of doing the wrong thing is obvious, his internal struggle over killing become him. And you can sense Sanborn's tired desperation to return home alive.  While the criticism this film has received from veterans is, of course, valid, it doesn't diminish the film in my eyes. I can't help but be engrossed in this world I've been dropped into, because you feel as if you're there. It takes you on the journey - you feel their tension, feel their nerves. You hold your breath, listening to your heartbeat, as you scan the screen for any signs of danger. And only at the end do you realise that no conventional story has been told. Rather you've played witness to a moment in time of this unit's lives.

8/10