‘Jarhead’ gunned down by war cliche and aimlessness
It seems like at least a handful of films have been made about every war in our world’s history. This does not mean that I’m not appreciative of our brave members of the armed forces who leave their homes to defend our country. It just seems like this large surplus of war films all appear to be about the same thing: war. “Jarhead” is the next film in line, telling a story about the destructive influences of war that exist in the battlefield as well as inside each of us. Although it is downright explosive during some moments, it is downright stagnant in others.
Director Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”) is clearly capable of creating a memorable masterpiece here, but unfortunately falls short. Based on the autobiographical book, “Jarhead” presents the emotional rigors of war as seen through the eyes of Anthony Swofford, a sniper in the Marine Corps. Swofford wrote the book and is played by Jake Gyllenhaal (“The Good Girl”) who is becoming surprisingly more competent with each film role. Gyllenhaal is surrounded by a cast of great supporting actors who all combine their performances to make a terrifically vivid ensemble. The most notable of which are Peter Sarsgaard (“Flight Plan”) as Swofford’s calm counterpart and Jamie Foxx (“Collateral”) as his bombastic staff sergeant.
“Jarhead” takes us on Swofford’s journey from youthful innocence to sobering maturity as he endures the humorous humiliations of boot camp and the frightening realities of violence and isolation while fighting in Kuwait. Male bonding flourishes, friendships are formed, sexually explicit punch lines abound and hearts are wrenched as we see each man in Swofford’s troop tragically crumble into semi-insanity.
This film is heavy and has a lot to take in. So much that your first impulse upon leaving the theater is to go directly to your bedroom and put your head under the covers. However, the schizophrenic, unbridled nature of this film is what helps it to be an effective portrayal of war’s irrepressible savagery. It is packed with more masculinity than every football team combined and will have you laughing one minute and cringing the next. Having an optimum balance of dark humor and poignant realism, this film subtly shows the disillusionment of the Gulf War.
All of the actors contribute remarkably to the power of this film. Each performance is given with unabashed honesty and consistent energy. But the storyline fails to do the same. There are great scenes of intensity, emotional and physical, which accelerate the plot and then there are scenes of the guys just hangin’ out which, although elevating the realism, clearly slows everything down. Scenes which portray the greatest sense of reality are good, but when “Jarhead” is so gratuitous about showing them, it quickly gets old. Such a choppy storyline confuses the audience and makes us wonder what this film is supposed to be about.
The conclusion wraps up somewhat in the end but the storyline remains dominated by the disturbing violence and aimless scene construction.
Casey T. Allen is a movie critic for the Utah
Statesman. Comments can be sent to
caseyal@cc.usu.edu.