The Hurt Locker

Hello. Welcome to my first blog. I decided that since I was doing so many movie reviews I didn't want to clog up the Nitsy blog with all of them. Blogs are like free pancakes these days so why not start a new one. I've got opinions and I watch a lot of movies, a perfect combination, like Nick and Betsy. Or cheese and salami. Since it's my first blog post, I thought I'd start with the most recent Best Picture winner, and one that I firmly stand behind, The Hurt Locker!

Good films are literature. Great films are art. Since films are essentially "motion pictures," movement and action is essential. Story at it's core is action. Because of this the movies that can transcend their medium(film) are those that are centered around action or movement. Ironically, these same films are overlooked for that reason, action(war, gangster, adventure) and movement(sports, thriller) are seen as low-brow. Of course, these two aspects of story are so abused and overused that they're usually made cheaply. By cheap, I mean made from cheap materials, which are sacrificed to make a wider appeal. But at their best, war films are metaphors for the war they represent. Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Hamburger Hill, The Deer Hunter, all represented the Vietnam War. Until now, there hadn't been a war film made about the Iraq War. The Hurt Locker has emerged as just that movie. Like the best metaphors it operates on multiple levels, and because of this some of its meaning is lost on those of the audience that remain thoughtless(Those not looking to find meaning, but enjoying the film purely for entertainment purposes. No ill intent intended.).

The Hurt Locker follows a small Ordnance Disposal unit. On the film's basic level the action by itself is enough to be compelling. If nothing else, the film was a tense telling of the soldiers' life and work in Baghdad during the height of the 2004 insurgency. From the very beginning when they are disarming the first bomb, you sit tensely by waiting, not knowing what's going to happen. Then, who you think is going to be the star of the film(Guy Pearce) dies! (a la Janet Leigh in Psycho.) And later in the film another star actor is killed. If these guys are dieing then anyone can be killed. It's these sorts of moments, and throughout when they're disarming bombs, which no two look alike, that keep you enthralled. I was more tense while watching this than watching any recent horror or thriller.

But the film works deeper even than this, becoming the metaphor for Iraq. And to get to the deeper levels one has to think of the time in which the movie takes place. This was 2004 in Baghdad. The US soldiers didn't know what they were up against. Baghdad was a war zone, and one the military hadn't encountered before. Who or where was the enemy? It was all around and yet faceless. Soldiers were dieing from roadside bombs and RPG from not only unknown people, but unknown motives. The Hurt Locker crystallizes this atmosphere. The easiest part for the three men is when they have the bomb in clear view, but even then there may be hidden parts. And even after that, there is no trip device or timer, the bomb is detonated by a cell phone from some enemy hiding around the corner or in a building. How can these men fight this enemy? They can't. All they can do is put out the fires that rages. Even when they find the enemy's hidden bomb making base, it's stripped of all humanity. Again, the questions is asked, how can these men fight this enemy? Not only is it faceless, but apparently without conscience or remorse.

There was nothing cartoony or even glamorous about the war through The Hurt Locker's eyes. The three soldiers each represent a different soldier and outlook on the fighting. Eldridge, the youngest, is the emotional nerve of the group. War has affected him deeply and he'll never be the same. He blames himself for his former leader's death and carries that with him. Before the war, he was probably the most excited about going and maybe the most patriotic of the three. Through Eldridge we see that war can and does affect people. He is now the reluctant fighter, and perhaps represents that part of America that is helpless to making change, yet is emotional about it.

Then there is Sanborn, the "by the book soldier" who buries his pain and emotion. He fights, but only because he feels he has to. And since he has to fight, he's going to do it by the book. Except, what he's slow to learn, is that this is a different war. There was no book for what they were doing. He'll go back home and pretend he wasn't affected by the fighting, but deep down he is. He represents that part of America that feels that they have to fight. Actual combat has made him jaded, and now he believes otherwise, but he signed up for a reason, and in any other war where the sides and reasoning were not blurred he'd be just as willing to stay in the action to do what was right.

Finally there is Sergeant James, the leader of the group. Much of the metaphor of the film is centered around him. In fact, the opening quote could very well describe him, "The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug." As we learn at the end, war is the only thing he loves. Usually when someone loves something, they're very good at it. This holds true for James. He is extremely skilled at disarming bombs. So good that he takes risks and rarely relies on his teammates. He sticks his neck out, just to see what challenges lie above. His teammates see him as reckless, and indeed in all eyes but his own he is.

It's in that recklessness that lies the deepest metaphor from The Hurt Locker. The most telling part comes at the end of the film, as James walks down the street on another tour of duty and the movie fades. He's back doing what he loves; fighting. He's learned nothing, except how to better fight. He's not only stayed stagnant as a character, he's grown colder. In example, when the boy comes up to him at the end, he'll have nothing to do with him from then on. James should be at home at home, but he isn't. Where is he at home the most? On the battlefield. This is America. We've learned nothing, except how to fight the insurgency better. We haven't learned more about diplomacy or how to handle the Iraqi people(and by extension the rest of the Middle East). If our history has shown anything, we as a people feel comfortable fighting wars. Maybe it comes from our democratic idealism, maybe it's the prosperity that has grown into pride. It doesn't matter, we have brought war to other nations and nothing is better off. Our families aren’t closer. Our economy is no better. And we as people are no better off. What other films have done so clumsily, this film hides that metaphor in the action and emotion, not wide open in the dialogue. That's why films centered around action hold the best metaphors. A film built around characters and their emotions can be nothing greater than literature.

The Hurt Locker was a deep film. It took the aesthetic of what film is supposed to be used for and it turned it into what art is, a metaphor. The characters are metaphors, of American psyche, the action was a metaphor of the Iraq War, and the theme of the film was a metaphor for the present American condition. There is a reason it won Best Picture. This film didn't rely on one aspect of film, be it the acting or cinematography or editing. It relied on all of them, from the script all the way to the editing. It wasn't a cartoonish rendition of war which on the nose metaphors. It was a thriller and one of the best ones ever made.

Further examples that the best metaphors come from action based on AFI's Top 100:
The Godfather, a gangster film
Gone with the Wind - centers around the Civil War
Lawrence of Arabia - a war film
The Wizard of Oz - a journey
On the Waterfront - gangster film
Schindler's List - centered during WWII
Star Wars - a sci-fi war film
Casablanca - takes place during WWII
The Bridge on the River Kwai - WWII
Raging Bull - sports movie
Psycho - a thriller
Chinatown - a detective thriller

As well, looking closer at Citizen Kane, the film is filled with strong action, build up with emotion, i.e. when he destroys the bedroom.