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he’s the most relatable of any of the members of the squad. He often says what the audience is thinking, and his nervous indecision mimics the kind of traumatized responses we’d most likely suffer from in the field. Despite his mental state, he manages to make the decisions that are hardest to reconcile and is going to be one of the more talked about aspects of the film.
Checking up on IMDB will yield you the interesting tidbits that the crew had four or more super 16mm cameras rolling at all times. Of the over 200 hours of footage filmed for the movie, the final runtime is only a little over 2 hours. 100:1 exposed negative to used stock is a larger ratio than even Francis Ford Coppola’s infamous Apocalypse Now photography, and gives you a sense of just how much filming went into the end product.
Because they had so much to work with, shots are rarely ever repeated, and the editing style has a documentary elegancy that contrasts the stark wastelands on display. Despite some shaking, you never lose sense of where the characters are spatially, and the climactic moments of each mission are highlighted with only the subtlest of musical cues. Most of the film plays entirely without a single melodic note, and the emotional intensity is derived from what is left behind, the weight and danger of real life. At times, that intensity may be a little too much for the viewer to take, and by the final day of the tour of duty, you feel as though you’ve served your time. You haven’t left your seat, but you’re still emotionally exhausted, and the film’s final moments will cause you to question everything you’ve experienced.
Beneath the hardened exterior, The Hurt Locker is an incredibly moving story. With brief appearances by some A-list supporting cast, and three strong relative-unknowns in the leads, there’s more than enough reason to care about what happens to these people. If nothing else, you won’t be able to take the casualties on the news as lightly as you once did, and that’s a good thing. Despite any prejudices against stories set in war-torn Iraq, if there’s one of them worth seeing, this has to be it. You’ll never look at this war the same.
Movie Grade: A
When a new sergeant, William James, takes over a highly trained bomb disposal team amidst violent conflict, he surprises his two subordinates, Sanborn and Eldridge by recklessly plunging them into a deadly game of urban combat. As the men struggle to control their wild new leader, the city explodes into chaos, and James’ true character reveals itself in a way that will change each man forever |
