Jarhead
Universal Pictures
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx and Peter Sarsgaard
The Verdict: Though “Jarhead” takes place in the heart of a war, the film is filled with sentiment, not action.
3 of 4 stars
With a name like Jarhead (a slang term for a U.S. Marine), and with the current state of the world around us, one would half expect this film to be nothing more than a blatant political statement. But it’s not. Nor is it an action movie.
“Jarhead” is an invitation into the hearts and souls of a group of ordinary young men longing for-and fearing-extraordinary circumstances. It succeeds in being very interesting, very funny and a little touching. It attempts to be very moving, but doesn’t quite reach this to the degree that it could have.
“Jarhead,” which is based on a true story, tells the tale of Anthony Swofford, an average kid who, like his father before him, enlists in the U.S. Marine Corps with visions of glory and honor in the distance. The film takes place during Operation Desert Storm, so after a rather quick, rough and quite humorous trip through boot camp, Anthony becomes a sniper and he and his fellow Marines head to the deserts of the Middle East, ready to take on the insurgents of Iraq.
The film’s attitude toward politics is best summed up with a quote spoken by the character Troy (seen here with some rather necessary extreme editing) “F*** politics. We’re here. Everything else is bull****.”
Indeed, the movie’s focus is not on nations, armies or wars, but on individuals. The central characters are far from knights in shining armor. They’re just kids. Though throughout the film enemy soldiers are floating nightmarishly just beyond the horizon, “Jarhead”‘s real antagonist lies within the hearts and souls of Anthony and his comrades in the form of breaking spirits, unquenched bloodlust and wondering what their girlfriend or wife is doing back home.
In the end, the film almost feels more like an edgier version of “Friday Night Lights” or “Remember the Titans” than a war movie. Most of the film takes place in a desert campsite where the Marines bicker, bond and party their way into friendship.
Much of the acting is superb. Jake Gyllenhaal (“Donnie Darko,” “The Day After Tomorrow”) continues to prove himself as a talented and diverse young actor and makes Anthony an interesting and believable character. Peter Sarsgaard (“Garden State,” “The Skeleton Key”) co-stars as Troy, an antihero who serves as Anthony’s spotter and best friend. Jamie Foxx (“Ray,” “Stealth”) gives an excellent, gritty performance as Sgt. Sykes.
The low point of the film’s acting is Lucas Black (“All the Pretty Horses,” “Slingblade”) whose portrayal of Anthony’s comrade Kruger is almost as atrociously painful as his Alabama drawl.
“Jarhead” was directed by Sam Mendes, who was also behind the 1999 satirical masterpiece “American Beauty.”
Though this film doesn’t touch “American Beauty” in terms of awakened emotions and love for characters in the viewer, Mendes’ presence is quite evident. He continues to find tragic humor in ordinary circumstances and places a massive human flaw in each of his characters that is completely evident to everyone except themselves.
The film’s setting is captured well. The desert stretches for miles in every direction around the band of Marines, making the screen seem like a lonely place.
Dream sequences and trips into the characters’ imaginations are sudden and present throughout the film, and they are uniquely shot.
Despite Mendes’ creative take on the Gulf War throughout the film, “Jarhead” is not destined to be a classic. It will never sit alongside “Apocalypse Now” or “Saving Private Ryan” in terms of a depiction of war forever etched in the minds of society, but that wasn’t really its objective in the first place. Viewers end up merely liking characters that desperately want to be loved, and ultimately forget them in the end.
Despite these flaws, “Jarhead” is certainly worth a single viewing. It’s a solid movie experience.