Although its main character never fires a round in combat, Jarhead follows the themes of war films that have come before it, such as Platoon and Full Metal Jacket, to explore the life of a Marine during the first Gulf War, and deliver a unique perspective on the soldier’s role in modern warfare from a Marine’s own point-of-view.
The film was has a huge cast of some of Hollywood’s best actors including Oscar winners Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper, Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal, and character actor Peter Sarsgaard. It was directed by Oscar winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty and The Road to Perdition) and is based on former Marine Anthony Swofford’s best-selling memoir of the same name.
The movie starts off with heavy shades of Full Metal Jacket, and we are quickly introduced to "Swoff" (Gyllenhaal) – who will narrate the movie for us, and take us on his journey into a look at war that is a bit off centered from the John Wayne war films we grew up watching. The character is a third generation military enlistee, but he points out in the opening minutes that joining the Marines may have been a big mistake.
From basic training, we are rushed to Swoff’s first deployment in Kuwait (where most of the movie takes place) where he arrives to find that he and the rest of the men in his unit will have basically nothing to do but sit and wait. The movie then takes on a bit of the tones we saw in Platoon – where Swoff exposes some of the problems with being a solider in the modern army. They are forced to endure the heat and harsh conditions, but not put into any kind of action. This causes lacks in discipline (such as Gyllenhaal running around naked with only a Santa Claus hat on), emotional conflict as the soldiers wonder about life back home (a wall is put up for the Dear John letters that the soldiers receive), and more than a few fights between the soldiers themselves.
When the soldiers are finally put into action, they spend most of their time walking through the burning oil fields – where Mendes has some beautiful scenes that really hit home the amount of destruction that was caused. On the few times they start to see action, it is over before it even has a chance to begin or caused by friendly fire. At one point after the war is over, one solider even comments on the fact he never even had a chance to shoot his gun. Again, this type of story separates it from past war movies, such as Platoon, but still carries the message of what the life of a soldier is like and the sacrifices that they are forced to make on a daily basis. The movie does run long and the pace slows from time to time, but the performances of its cast keep you watching even if there aren’t huge battles eating up the screen time.
Jarhead covers a different kind of war, and in an almost irreverent matter
Jamie Foxx is really great in the film, and shows that he was worthy of an Oscar even if he made Stealth. His portrayal of a Marine is a stark contrast to the one we see in Gyllenhaal, and the two actors are really good foils for each other. The same can be said for Sarsgaard’s performance, and his desire to just be a Marine – something that he finds out he will not be allowed to be when they return home after the war.
Gyllenhaal does a good job in the role of Swoff, but loses the character from time to time. It is clear that he doesn’t really want to be a Marine and even more clearly that he feels there is no place for him in the Marine Corps. At the same time, it seems like even Gyllenhaal doesn’t know what to do with his character. He does a good job narrating the movie, and has some great moments where he can get the feelings expressed without saying a word. Some of his performance reminded me of Charlie Sheen’s work in Platoon, but never to the point that I thought the role was cliché.
Mendes does a good job as director and delivers the same quality movie that you can expect from him. It is clear that the director is making some comments on the Gulf War and even some of what is happening today, but he never beats you over the head with it. It never feels too much like a political movie, and the performances keep it entertaining even if it is a bit disturbing from time to time – such as when the soldiers come across burning bodies. Mendes captures the chaos of modern war but keeps the film feeling like some of the classic war pictures of the past – even if it is clear that the tone and depiction is completely different.
The two-disc DVD comes loaded with special features that fans of the movie will love, and other audience will also find interesting. Some of them are standard DVD extras, such as making of documentaries, but others really help you go deeper into the story behind the movie. The extras include Jarhead Diaries with an introduction by Mendes – this features a look at the personal video diaries created by the different people involved in the movie as they discuss their experiences on the set; a look at the background of the movie (which also has an introduction by Mendes) that features cameras following the real U.S. Marines that served as extras for the movie; Semper Fi: Life After the Corps (with an introduction by Mendes and audio introduction by author Anthony Swofford) that features Swofford and Laura Nix interviewing former U.S. Marines about their experiences re-integrating into civilian life after the being a Marine.
Mendes captures the chaos of modern war
There are also deleted scenes with commentary by Mendes and editor Walter Murch; feature commentary with screenwriter William Broyles, Jr. and Swofford; news interviews; and Swoff’s Fantasies with commentary by Mendes and Murch.
Jarhead is not the best war movie ever made or even the best look at the life of a soldier. It covers a different kind of war, and approaches its subject in an almost irreverent matter. Although the movie covers the entire Gulf War, the most shooting that takes place is during the celebration that the war is over. Still, it has some extremely good performances from some of Hollywood’s best actors today, and Mendes does an excellent job in the director’s chair.
Gyllenhaal take us on his journey to a war that is a bit off centered
I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys war films, or wants to see just what it was like to be a soldier in the first Gulf War. There is some political messages thrown into the movie, but it never takes away from the film’s entertainment value or the performances that you are getting to watch on the screen.
Jarhead is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
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