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Jarhead [2005]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Based on Anthony Swofford’s excellent memoir about his experiences as a Marine Sniper in Gulf War I, Jarhead is a war movie in which the waiting is a far greater factor upon the characters than the war itself, and the build up to combat is more drama than what combat is depicted. To some viewers hoping for typical movie action, this will seem like a cruel joke. But it’s not. It’s just the story as it was written, and if you liked the book, you will probably like the movie. If you didn’t, then the movie won’t change your mind.

The movie follows the trajectory of Swofford (played with thoughtful intensity by Jake Gyllenhaal) from wayward Marine recruit (he joined because he "got lost on the way to college") to skilled Marine sniper, and on into the desert in preparation for the attack on Iraq. No-nonsense, Marine-for-life Staff Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx), the man who recruited Swofford and his spotter Troy (Peter Sarsgaard) into the sniper team, leads them in training, and in waiting where their lives are dominated by endless tension, pointless exercises in absurdity (like playing football in the scorching heat of the desert in their gas masks so it will look better for the media’s TV cameras), more training, and constant anticipation of the moment to come when they’ll finally get to kill. When the war does come, it moves too fast for Swofford’s sniper team, and the one chance they get at a kill--to do the one thing they’ve trained so hard and waited so long for--eludes them, leaving them to wonder what was the point of all they had endured.

As directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty), the movie remains very loyal to the language and vision of the book, but it doesn’t entirely work as the film needs something more than a literal translation to bring out its full potential. Mendes’ stark and, at times, apocalyptic visuals add a lot and strike the right tone: wide shots of inky-black oil raining down on the vast, empty desert from flaming oil wells contrasted with close-ups of crude-soaked faces struggling through the mire vividly bring to life the meaning of the tagline "welcome to the suck." But much of the second half of the movie will probably leave some viewers feeling disappointed in the cinematic experience, while others might appreciate its microcosmic depiction of modern chaos and aimlessness. Jarhead is one of those examples where the book is better than the movie, but not for lack of trying. --Dan Vancini


War Movie with a difference
Review date: 2008-09-23 Rating: 8 out of 10

Jarhead starts out in boot camp with new recruits and a sadistic drill instructor - and you think you know what is coming next. Bonding, heroism and death in the heat of battle. But that is not how Jarhead goes.

Instead what we get is a realistic(ish) view of the experience a youg marine in the period leading up to and including the first gulf war. We see young men driven half crazy with boredom and frustration as they wait for the war to start. It is an unjudgemental film that is uncomfortable viewing at times.

I lags a bit a points - difficult to make boredom interesting - and while I haven't read the autobiography this is based on it is clear some events have have been changed to increase the drama.

Not a brilliant film - but one well worth your time

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Reviews


The "intelligent" war film
Review date: 2008-09-01 Rating: 8 out of 10

"Gripping, intelligent and amazing" is the pull quote on the back of the DVD sleeve and it's the closest opinion to my own.
If you want an all action war film, this won't be at the top of your lift. Jarhead is one of the only (in my brief viewing of the many war films out there) 'intelligent' war films out there thanks to it being based on the main character's personal experience in the Gulf.

The casting is spot on with Jake Gyllenhaal in the role of Swoff, whose face looks every part a seasoned Marine the moment it appears. Jamie Foxx plays Staff Sgt. Sykes, who I can't help but feel rings of Samuel L Jackson at points...

The film, though, feels disjointed. The intro of the film begins with a salute (no pun!) to Full Metal Jacket's intro. Swoff's narration of how he became a sniper reminds me of Jack's storytelling in Fight Club. And 35mm bordered shots are spliced in for no reason other than to add to the cinematographic quality. There's nothing wrong with that, but the conventions and themes don't run all the way to the end. So how did they help out in the first place? See my point?

Nevertheless, you stick with it. Although there are filming conventions randomly thrown in for good measure, the screenplay is good; there's a great feeling of camaraderie you feel when watching war films, and the message of "why are we even fighting this war?" is clear throughout. War - what is it good for? There is also really nice cinematography provided by Industrial Light and Magic, and looks great on the widescreen.

Gung-ho war film fans - sorry, it may not be your cup of tea. Those that like films based on novels, go for it.

intertresting
Review date: 2008-06-07 Rating: 6 out of 10

decent film that is boring and slow moving in places but overall is decent entertainment and is worth watching

Conventional anti-war flick
Review date: 2008-01-28 Rating: 6 out of 10

Read the book. That was great. This film didn't work. I knew what to expect. I wasn't expecting an action movie. So it wasn't that. I think this film was doomed to failure because its raison d'etre is to depict the life of a soldier to be an uneventful slog, mostly boring. In that sense it is too ambitious. The thing is, you can have an uneventful book because you can get right into the minds of the characters, you have the author's internal monologue, but a movie is visual. Things have to happen to compensate for the lack of narration. Only this is a film about nothing happening, about soldiers training in base camp, walking through a desert, digging holes, arguing, fighting (each other) and generally being bored. Then there's the cliché of the troubled warrior brooding and holding his head in his hands to sad music. If you like that sort of thing then you'll love this film. It has lots of that sort of stuff in it. Only it doesn't really say anything new, it just sticks to the conventional mantra: "You'll never really know what war's like unless you've been there and then you still won't be able to understand it." Which is a bit self-effacing, but there you go. My advice would be to buy the book and forget the film.

Realities of War
Review date: 2008-01-10 Rating: 10 out of 10

I was reluctant to see this movie. As a veteran of Desert Shield/Storm, I spent my first 90 days in-theater in the Weapons Co of A Swofford's Battalion. I later was moved to the 1st Bn of 7th Marines, but having been in the same unit for some of the same time I felt I could offer readers a unique perspective on the film's accuracy.

From a purely aesthetic perspective I thought the film was well done. The acting was very good, and the script was well written, witty, and accurate. The actors were well suited to their roles. My personal preference for a good plot would have been disappointed were it not for my personal interest in the film. In my opinion this film is an outstanding dramatic-documentary, so adjust your expectations accordingly. If you are expecting a driving plot line and all the accompanying dramatic tension, then I think you will be disappointed (as many whose comments I heard exiting the theater certainly were). But if you think of it as a chance to take a glimpse into a point in history, and see it as some of those who lived it did, then I think you will be impressed.

Many people may think that the obscenity of some of the interactions was overdone for effect. But whatever anyone's personal judgment of that behavior, that is the closest portrayal of Marines (or soldiers) being themselves I have yet seen on screen. Marines are vulgar. They do watch porn. They do fight among themselves. They do both hate, and love, the Marine Corps. There is an omni-present anti-war conspiracy theorist. The do say ridiculous things. There are some who are over the line. The reality of the Marine Infantry is that things happen there every day that are well beyond conventional sensibility, and which strain credibility to the average civilian. It's all true. I love the Marine Corps and I am still serving - I don't have an axe to grind. It just happens to be true.

Are there parts of the film that I find incredible? Yes. But they are not the essential things. There is a scene, it's even in the trailer, in which everyone is firing their weapon into the air. I wasn't there, but I can't fathom a breach of discipline on that scale. I can't say it's impossible, but I am doubtful. But whether it's true or not is not important. At its essence this is a film about Marines, how they adjusted to the Marine Corps, each other, and a war. If there are a few incredible details, then we can just be grateful that Hollywood didn't impose a car-chase on us.

This is a film about Marines. At that time, there were very few who turned down scholarships to Ivy League schools to come in. We were from strange backgrounds. We were obscene. We did want to get our kills. Many of us were frustrated that our war was only 100 hrs long. We knew we were filling the footsteps of giants - the Marines of Iwo, The Chosin, Belleau Wood - and I think we all wanted a chance to earn a place next to those men. In our wild, adrenalized youth, those aspirations just took the crude form of looking for a kill. Or at least that's how I've put it in perspective 15 years later.

If you go and see this film, try to recall yourself at 18 (as I was). Suspend your judgment of the obscenity and vulgarity until you're sure you would've done it differently. I can't speak for Swofford, but I am still incredibly proud of my service there. The insanity of this film reminds me why: because it is characteristic of the immense hardship that our youth bears on behalf of the rest. Do the characters look stressed? It's not hyperbole. We were 18 and we thought we were going to die over there. Still, at H-Hour, everyone marched North. In my opinion, you better fill some big shoes before you judge that.

So don't go into this film champing at the bit to pigeon-hole it as "Anti" or "Pro" war, with all the pre-fab rhetoric that comes with such a judgment. You have an opportunity here to look back into our little moment in history. Swofford has invited you into our memories. They are not Right, and they are not Left, they are just our story as Swofford lived it. If that kind of thing interests you, then go and see this movie.


Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Wade Williams
Matthew Atherton
Jake Gyllenhaal
Peter Sarsgaard
Jamie Foxx

Creators:
Jake Gyllenhaal (Primary Contributor)
Wade Williams (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Universal Pictures Video
Manufacturer: Universal Pictures Video
EAN: 5050582425437
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2006-05-15
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 118 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2005
Language: English (Original Language)

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