Movie Review - 'The Hurt Locker'

The Hurt Locker Starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, and Brian Geraghty Directed by Kathryn Bigelow Rated R

I hope you see The Hurt Locker. It isn't a movie for everybody, and in fact, its intense nature could limit its audience even further. But see it if you can. As war movies go, it isn't spectacularly graphic or violent, and that's part of the issue - there's simply no release for the audience. That's not a flaw of Kathryn Bigelow's film in any way; as it happens, I'm hard-pressed to find a single flaw with it. It breaks the conventions of most war movies, telling a story not just the soldiers but the kind of soldiers who fight for our freedoms. It's common to politicize this war in films, but there's not a single mention of policy, because it doesn't matter on a day-to-day basis to the three men we're following. They have bigger concerns. The Hurt Locker couldn't be a Civil War movie or a Vietnam movie because of the nature of the work undertaken by the men in uniform. The Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) unit is a bomb squad in Iraq that spends its days defusing IEDs, those ghastly homemade roadside bombs that have been responsible for roughly 40% of coalition deaths in the war. A more ordinary movie would blink when faced with covering this kind of excruciating and detailed mission, choosing instead to show the bomb being deactivated and quickly cutting to the next scene. Bigelow plants several IEDs in her film, and not all of them end happily. That's how it goes. Her decision to treat each bomb like a patient in surgery is riveting. There are three points of view: Sgt. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Spc. Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) scour the perimeter looking for a suspicious character with a remote detonator. Sanborn is more cool and collected, but sometimes wonders why he's fighting. Eldridge is slightly less nervous than we would be in his situation, seeking counsel from the staff psychologist, or as much of that as he can take. They focus on the external while Sgt. James (Jeremy Renner) hops in a giant blast furnace of a protective suit, slowly paces down the dusty streets of Baghdad with eyes on both sides of the fight fixed on him, and systematically takes apart the mechanism that arms the IED. That's the theory, anyway. James is the only one of the three who could do that kind of work. As much as he knows about the wiring of an explosive, he seems to be even more keenly aware of the way he's wired: This is what he can do. This is what no one else can do. Bigelow (Point Break, K-19: The Widowmaker) keeps ratcheting up the intensity by shooting everything with multiple cameras and using a photojournalistic approach that is common in modern war movies but rarely as successful as it is here. I came away most impressed by her patience in the quieter moments before the storm. That's where the tension comes from in any movie - the what-will-happen-next of it all - and Bigelow is able to maximize that tension without being showy. The decision to not cast movie stars helps the movie immeasurably, and all three actors give great performances. Renner, however, deserves special recognition, since Sgt. James is such an unusual invention that shares very little with the hero archetype of war movies. It's also going to be remembered as one of the best performances of 2009, and if it isn't, then we're in for some excellent acting between now and January. War movies are always tricky, more so in times of war. The Hurt Locker is brave, bold, captivating, respectful to the men and women on the front lines, and most of all, a unique and moving motion picture that will stand the test of time.

Comments

[Asana]

5 damn dirty apes? This one cleaned up nice!

[Lengthy Johson]

Nice.

I've held Bigelow in high regard ever since I saw "Point Break" in the early 90s.

It's a shame that she hasn't done more work. I don't know if it's deliberate on her part or the way that the industry works for women directors.

Also, her film "The Weight of Water" is a film that I initially resisted, but which stays with you a long time after viewing.

[Jen]

Beautifully written, Colin! I spent all day writing the Renner interview piece earlier in the week that I Hurt Locker'd myself out so still need to fine-tune the review which is going up some time today but your take was incredibly well considered. After talking to you at the theatre, I wasn't sure if it was getting the whole 5 but glad it did because I think it's the strongest work of the year so far. Bravo!

[whitewolf2k3]

5 apes...whats next cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria?!?!?!

Seeing it at 1 today...CAN NOT WAIT!!!!

[faulty logic]

I'd been wondering for a while what it takes to get 5 damn dirty apes. Can't remember the last one.

[Get The Big Picture]

The last one wasn't that long ago; a little something called Slumdog Millionaire.

[Honz Brix]

Hey Colin i'm dying to see this. Any idea when it's opening in Utica Ny if at all?

[Get The Big Picture]

No, I don't. The official site has 19 cities listed, and I'm not sure if Boston, Manhattan, or Toronto is your best bet. I think it would have to do really well to get to Utica, just based on the way they normally spread these out. Another factor is that it's Summit and not, say, Fox Searchlight. Summit doesn't really have a model for movies like this yet.