Movie Review: The Hurt Locker

by Ellen Sterling

Saturday, January 2, 2010

S/Sgt James (Jeremy Renner) goes about his business
in The Hurt Locker
Courtesy Summit Pictures

The Hurt Locker is, in a word, stunning. But, really, “a word” will not do. It is a suspenseful, provocative, adrenaline-inducing film about our young American men fighting in Iraq. It is by far the best film yet made about our current engagements in that part of the world and, at the same time, is the first to look at what makes certain soldiers love war more than home, what makes them more than willing — eager, in fact — to risk their lives. It is, in short, a triumph for director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter/embedded journalist Mark Boal.

There is no attempt to examine the larger issues of this setting. No one asks why we’re there or, even, if we should be. Rather, The Hurt Locker examines in every possible way what it is like to be there. And, more specifically, what it’s like to be a member of Delta Company, an elite bomb squad stationed in Baghdad. (The phrase “hurt locker” is, generally, slang for (a place of pain.”)

The closest focus is on three soldiers. Sgt. JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) is a by-the-book kind of guy and it is evident that he believes adhering to that book, following orders and military protocol have kept him alive and may get him home. He is a professional soldier who wants to survive, perhaps to go into some other profession.

Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) is afraid of that which faces him every day and is ashamed of his fear. He is the least experienced of the three and, most likely, feels as you or I — not professional soldiers — may feel in the same situation.

Staff Sgt. William James (Jeremy Renner) joins Delta Company when the sergeant in charge of the unit dies. He is a man who lives in battle. He never turns away and clearly loves what he does.

These three come together with the rest of their company and are at every moment in harm’s way. That is what makes this film a real nail-biter — What will happen? Who will live? Or die? But what makes it engrossing on a completely human level is our wonder at how human beings will react in this situation and, in the end, the fact that we come to care about them.

The cast — including Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes in what are essentially cameos — is uniformly excellent, especially Renner and Mackie. Watching Renner defuse a bomb is like watching a virtuoso play a concerto. The fingers fly over the keys, everything is right and we can only wonder, “How’d he do that?”

Several people in the audience have commented on the fact that this amazing war film was made by a woman. That’s not as important as the fact that it was made by an outstanding filmmaker.

The Hurt Locker will be released on DVD January 12.

(On another note, what made this movie more troublesome than it might have been if shown just by itself, is the fact that in many theaters it follows a package of ads for everything from TV shows to soda to….and here’s what’s troubling….a recruitment commercial for the National Guard. There’s nothing wrong with the National Guard. As a country we’ve come to depend on them in times of disaster and need. But this particular spot, underscored with martial music, glorifies war while it is glorifying the Guard. But, since it’s selling the product, no one is hurt. Then, on the same screen, comes a film that details up-close and personal the horrors of war. The question of who provides the millions needed to create, film and show such ads is not at issue here. It’s just that war is not usually a good thing. Showing that National Guard promo with The Hurt Locker just makes the Guard seem more callous than even the military should be.)

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