Media Consumes Me

The Hurt Locker, a thrilling high caliber war film set in Baghdad during the U.S. Army occupation of 2004,  follows an Army EOD bomb squad as they try to survive through their missions until the end of their company rotation. The film stars Jeremy Renner as Staff Sergeant William James, is directed by Kathryn Bigelow (Strange Days, K-19 The Widowmaker), and is written by Mark Boal (writer of In The Valley of Elah). The film, from the combination of great production, acting and writing is much like a powerful concussive blast:  a force to certainly be reckoned with and one the viewer will most likely walk away from with permanent impressions.

*Spoiler Alert!* Important plot points may be revealed.

Hurt Locker is probably the best Iraq war film to date, and one of the best modern day war films. Right alongside movies like Blackhawk Down, the city and pedestrian surroundings are incredibly spot-on and serve as one of the most important characters in the film. You can feel the city closing in around the soldiers as pedestrians and spectators watch from windows and out from behind shadows as the soldiers attempt to diffuse bomb after bomb. The predicament of keeping peace, without killing innocent civilians becomes a constant threat, and a frustrating one as it seems to time and time again to give the enemy the upper hand.

We find as we come to know the main character William James, that like him, the film is torn between two competing sides: one – that war is terrible, senseless, unnecessary, and the other – that it is exciting, empowering, liberating. The Hurt Locker’s opening quote centers on “…war is a drug…”, an excerpt from Chris Hedges’, War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning. At times the movie seems very much like an army propaganda film, but this may be only because the movie’s central theme does not sink heavy into the horrors of war, or become too indulgent in our sympathy’s for the torn and distraught. For James, war gives him a purpose that far exceeds the importance, or thrill, of shopping with his baby son, and ex wife for groceries.

In one of the eeriest scenes, a U.S. soldier is taken away at night by insurgents. His squad desperately follows to save him, catching only glimpses of him as he’s taken away behind corners and down alleys. The unnerving feeling that accompanies those images is not only from great production work, but also because one can’t help but reflect on the real life moments and situations when soldiers were kidnapped, and taken into the night.

In another scene, the squad comes across a group of contract soldiers escorting captured high priority insurgent leaders (the contractor leader played by Ralph Fiennes). At first, it seems as if the contract soldiers are a group of badass commandos, but after they come under fire from a hidden insurgent sniper, it becomes quickly apparent that the army squad is the better trained and most capable of saving all of their butts…well, the ones who survive that is.

This movie serves the soldier, and honors their commitment, courage and sacrifice. The Hurt Locker is a beautiful film that should certainly be considered for Oscar nominations.