Nov. 17, 2005

Gulf War movie showcases the boredom of war

By JEREMY KOPP and
PHILIP LEMASTER
koppj@marietta.edu and pcl001@marietta.edu

Jeremy: The tagline for ‘Jarhead’ reads “Welcome to the suck,” so it’s not like we hadn’t been warned.

Okay, so ‘Jarhead’ doesn’t suck, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. Part ‘Full Metal Jacket,’ part ‘Apocalypse Now,’ Sam Mendes’ (‘Road to Perdition’) existential study of Marines battling boredom in the Gulf War unfolds tediously, and there’s very little story to unfold.
The film is based on ex-Marine Tony Swofford’s memoir of the same name, and Jake Gyllenhaal portrays “Swoff” as a motivated, intense, cocky young man who, as we learn through Gylenhaal’s excessive narration, joined the Marines merely because he didn’t know what he wanted to do in life. He endures hell at boot camp at the hands of Staff Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx) in scenes reminiscent of ‘Full Metal Jacket,’ featuring the obscene drill instructor and his rigorous training exercises. Swoff befriends Troy (Peter Sarsgaard), who’s gung-ho for the Marines but is being forced out of the Corp once his unit returns home.
And we watch the special-ops sniper squad bicker, watch television, masturbate, sleep, read letters from home, and bicker and masturbate some more. ‘Jarhead’ is more interested in the little details than the actual war, but detailing boredom eventually grows, well, boring.
Still, the boringness looks really good thanks to Roger Deakin’s cinematography that contributes a surreal, mystic quality as the troops trek across the seemingly endless desert with horizons lined by burning oil wells that bathe the land in black.

My favorite scene showcases a dazed Swoff during his very first experience in battle. A bomb drops in slow-mo, and we’re given a close-up of Gyllenhaal as the tiny sand particles shower his face. It’s an effective device, making the sand shower almost sensuous as Swoff prepares to embrace the horror ahead of him.
So the movie’s good to look at, just not as good to watch. Yes, there are some fascinating scenes; watch the troops cheer at the famous helicopter flight in ‘Apocalypse Now’ (an anti-war film that they seem to see as a training guide), and notice the tension that builds when the band of snipers encounter a group of Arabs with missing camels in the middle of nowhere. But these scenes don’t add up to much of anything; they’re a collection of Swoff’s experiences without any real story to hold them together.

Maybe the war was this ambivalent for Swofford, but then why should it matter to us? The film never takes a pro/anti-war stance, so its only point is that there is none. It’s a beautiful movie with top-notch acting, but I prefer the fast-paced, anarchic energy of ‘Three Kings,’ David O. Russell’s 1999 Gulf War picture that actually cared enough for its characters to make their experience worth watching.
If you haven’t seen ‘Three Kings,’ see it, but see ‘Jarhead’ first. Otherwise, it’ll feel as if ‘Jarhead’ is living up to its tagline.

Philip: If seeing Jake Gyllenhaal parade around in a Santa hat fashioned into a thong sounds appealing, ‘Jarhead’ is for you. Alas, not being an avid ‘Teen Bop’ reader, I found the movie a bit less amusing than the girls in the theatre. Sure, the movie is well-made, and I wouldn’t expect anything less from director Sam Mendes after his masterpiece ‘American Beauty.’ However, unlike in ‘American Beauty,’ the plot in ‘Jarhead’ goes nowhere. While this could actually work for a movie surrounding a war about nothing, it just meanders.
Sure, with the current war and its similarities to the Gulf War, ‘Jarhead’ could have been a relevant film for its generation. Instead, it seems too self-conscious, and its intentions are transparent. I’ll admit the performances by all the actors outshine many others this year, but for what? This is just another anti-war movie that we’ve all seen done better before.
I really wonder why ‘Jarhead’ was even made. It blatantly labels itself as existential, even referencing Albert Camus’s novel ‘The Stranger’ on more than one occasion. After David O. Russell’s existentialist Gulf War film ‘Three Kings,’ do we really need another philosophical early 90’s war fest? I think not. If you want Jake Gyllenhaal, stick with ‘Donnie Darko.’ If you want a Gulf War movie, stick with ‘Three Kings.’ If you still want ‘Jarhead,’ stick your hand in a meat grinder.