The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

In the past decade or so, many (bad) war movies have permeated our screens, most of them taking place in the Middle East. A prolonged war in Iraq, coupled with the unceasing animosity that exists between Palestine and Israel, has attracted many Hollywood directors. They have been using the volatility in that area in an attempt to shock audiences and bring us as close to that environment without physically doing so. Some movies have succeeded (3 Kings, The Kite Runner, Black Hawk Down) but most have failed to generate any tension whatsoever (Body of Lies, Redacted, The Kingdom, Jarhead).

In The Hurt Locker, director Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break, Strange Days) produces a surprisingly accurate portrayal of a soldier’s life in Iraq, using many cues from her colleagues Paul Greengrass and Werner Herzog. Bigelow blends fast-moving scenes with slow, far-away shots to give her audience a true impression of the incredible danger that constantly exists in Baghdad. Some people actually complained of motion-sickness following the movie’s release, but Bigelow actually makes fairly limited use of shaky-cam techniques.

The movie follows three members of a U.S. Army EOD bomb squad in present-day Iraq as they are called in to defuse various IEDs (improvised explosive devices). They are constantly being watched by the local residents and subsequently, everyone is a suspect – a potential criminal. The language barrier and cultural differences between Americans and Iraqis are well exemplified here, and many altercations stem from simple misunderstandings. The bomb squad only has a limited window of time in which to disarm the massive bombs, some of which are found under the road or in the trunk of a burning car. Bigelow’s principal cast (Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Gereghty) work as a very tight unit in order to minimize any potential casualties.

Renner gives a fantastic performance as a reckless Southern kamikaze whose feathers aren’t ruffled by any bomb, regardless of its size or location. With more over 800 missions under his belt, his calm demeanor allows him to focus on the task at hand, even though the rest of this team is constantly yelling at him to hurry up. For added verisimilitude, Renner spent a period of time training with a real EOD team, as many efforts were made to render the movie as authentic as possible. His character (James) forms a love-hate relationship with JT Sanborn (Mackie), and the two of them form a significant bond as the movie progresses. Renner also has to deal with the intense, psychological baggage that comes with being a bomb defuser. He bottles most of that rage inside him in an effort to hide as much of it as possible.

Some fascinating casting decisions were made, though, as Guy Pierce and Ralph Fiennes both make brief appearances in the film. Five minutes is all that was needed from them, and that’s a few minutes longer than it took David Morse to appear and disappear from the screen. Perhaps Bigelow thought that by infusing some real star power, it would somehow add to the movie’s credibility. I saw it as a waste and a distraction more than anything else. However, another performance worth mentioning is the one by Christopher Savegh, himself a displaced Iraqi war refugee now living in Jordan. He portrays “Beckham”, a young kid selling DVDs near the army bases who forms a short-lived friendship with Renner’s character. Savegh’s impressive level of English (and knowledge of slang) makes his character truly memorable.

The score was composed by Marco Beltrami and he does a great job of setting the mood, especially in pressure-cooker situations. The sound scape wasn’t dissimilar from There Will Be Blood‘s, or even 3:10 to Yuma‘s (also Beltrami) in the fact that it is at once unobtrusive and very efficient.

The movie was written by Mark Boal, himself embedded with a bomb squad during a period of time in Iraq. His previous work includes In the Valley of Elah, for which he wrote the story. Coupled with Bigelow’s keen eye for exhibiting tension, The Hurt Locker is definitely one of the best war films in recent memory. Gone is the fake suspense of not knowing which wire to cut; here, we have established characters who know exactly what they’re doing. Although Bigelow occasionally uses an ‘artsy’ approach where none is needed (bullets falling onto the ground in slow motion, etc), the movie does not pretend to be something it isn’t. Shot on location in Jordan, right next door to the most volatile region in the world, The Hurt Locker is remarkably pragmatic and a movie that delivers on its promise to keep you entertained for 131 minutes.

Myles Dolphin

Visit The Hurt Locker’s official website at www.thehurtlocker-movie.com/.