131 Minutes
Directed By: Kathryn Bigelow
Written By: Mark Boal
Staring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, Evangeline Lily, Christopher Sayegh, and Christian Camargo
But you realize every time you suit up, every time we go out, it’s life or death. You roll the dice, and you deal with it. You recognize that don’t you? -Sanborn
The Hurt Locker blew me away. (Pun intended) 2009 has been an excellent year for movies in my thoughts. Not just well made movies, but movies that are going to be bench marks of the decade, movies that will be remembered forever. To me, The Hurt Locker belongs at the top of that pack, and anything it wins at the Oscars will be well deserved, even taking in consideration two other beloved films of mine are nominated this year as well (Inglourious Basterds & Avatar). As much as I loved each of those films, The Hurt Locker is a movie just as original, just as powerful, and one of the most remarkably intense movies I have ever seen.
The buzz has been palpable for a year now, and yet I managed to avoid seeing anything other than a poster. No trailers, no spoilers, not even too much of a synopsis of the plot. I read peoples opinions, but avoided any of the specific details. To my pleasure everything about this movie was a new discovery, a journey with the characters, learning very little, but simultaneously very much.
The story itself is pretty simple. It’s focused around three men coming to an end of their tour in Iraq and they are specialists. Specialists that deal with disarming bombs. Dangerous? I would say so. War is dangerous for whomever is a part of it, and The Hurt Locker makes that clear very quickly, but the job these men do is pretty much putting themselves at deaths door. When a new member joins the team towards the end of the tour, his insane antics and crazy aversion to fear is unnerving to the other men, but as each day to their return home comes closer the tension of each trip grows that much more.
The realism and shaky camera’s weren’t necessarily present here, but that missing element gave you the ability to really absorb the surroundings. I’m fairly certain that even I had seen enough sand by the time the film had ended. The bitterness of the dessert and the freakishly obvious presence of the terrorism within urban housing and communities was disturbing. The hollowness of war was exemplified in a world trying to exist in spite of the presence of a foreign force trying to reign in a violence that had no real purpose. In spite of some of the landscape, there is definitely a feeling of claustrophobia here, the inability to escape the area of danger that the men were daily subjected to.
Two incredible performances stood out to me. The first was Jeremy Renner playing the insane bomb specialist SFC William James. No male performance I’ve seen this year has been so profoundly resonating. There is very little unveiled about the character, yet the layers of depth and the small bits and pieces of emotion given through subtle details byRenner made this performance ridiculously understated. The overall film was without question incredible, but the word of Renner was not close to as large. I haven’t seen Bridges performance in Crazy Heart, but it’s difficult to imagine the Dude winning overRenner, who has left me speechless. Also not mentioned was the tense performance of Anthony Mackie . The chemistry between the two men built the tale and gave The Hurt Locker the legs it needed to stand. In the final moment between the two we are given the opportunity to see what made each man tick and what made each of them different. James and Sanborn carry the movie and their performances were equally as noteworthy as the amazing direction and cinematography.
Kathryn Bigelow did a phenomenal job putting this film together. The subject matter, the setting, and the situation may not have had a large appeal to people ended up evolving into one of the most riveting movies of the decade and certainly one of the most outstanding this year. The weight men carry that have to do things we can’t imagine, how it changes them, and how it solidifies some in their ways were only some of the character trials explored. Sanborn’s reflection at the end says it all. Some men do what they have to do to get by, and some men were built for the job.
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Excellent review Heather. Kathryn Bigelow should start getting the respect she deserves. She might not make as many films as some of her fellow filmmakers – probably because she takes the time to pick her projects – but she has a consistent body of work and some exceptional films. The Hurt Locker is another shining example to add to her resume.
Great review Heather, and I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m glad to hear you were able to come into this movie stone cold as I had one crucial moment of the film tipped off in advance (the twit on the first bomb James goes to disarm).
This is indeed one of the very best films of the year, and one I believe to be one of the best of the whole decade! Here’s hoping it can parlay its success into a Best Picture win in a few weeks.
Thanks Hatter and Dan. I know I’m a little late to the discussing of it, but it just stunned me and caught me off guard. I’m really excited about the movies this year, especially since last year felt very lackluster. I’m thinking the Oscar may get a lot of things wrong, but I do think Best Picture is going to end on a happy note no matter what. I have three important options for a happy ending in there, though I’m secretly rooting for The Hurt Locker now.
Great review Heather. The story is extremely well told and Bigelow is able to extract every ounce of suspense and thrill from every sequences. It’s nice to see a movie about the Iraq war get some respect as all movies before that were mostly forgotten.
I’m glad that you had the same feelings about the movie and about Renner’s and Mackie’s performances as I did. I saw this film eight months ago and it’s still fresh on my mind. I’m glad that the little movie could possibly take down the juggernaut.
The movie was tense throughout. That standoff in the desert. Wow. That first bomb explosion sequences. So good!
Great review! I agree about Renner. I too was Blown Away (pun intended) by this movie. The Shock and Awe (again intended) of the mondern world of war was amazing. Makes me want to repeal dont ask dont tell because you should ask your friends if they have seen this movie and if not then tell them to see it, felt and enduring freedom after wathcing this (ok enough puns). This was one hell of a movie, the depth and mystery surrounding Renners character really stood out. I couldnt figure out if he had a death wish? Was just indifferent to war and the consequences? What was really goin on back at home? then it all comes to a brilliant end and you figure out that Sgt James had a calling, and he was made to be part of the EOD, born to wear that suit, born to save lives, born to be an unsung hero amoungst heros. I hope the academy feels the same way, this is one of the richest movies I have seen in recent years in terms of character development and that is always the thing that weighs heaviest with me, love 3D and special effects, love anything Tarantino, but Bigelow has made the near perfect movie of 2009.
And that was the thing you got too Karl. The other men were still heroes and sacrificed, but he was a hero among them all. I really hope Renner will win but I think Bridges is a foregone conclusion, and I’ll be more than amply happy to see Bigelow get best director or Hurt Locker win the big one. It was an incredible movie. I want everyone to just sit and watch it.
i missed this movies last year. after seeing this review, cant wait to see it. thx