I’ve grown accustomed to being disappointed in the wins for best picture at the Oscars over the last few years. It seems those who make the decisions are so dead set on being taken seriously as artists that they fail to choose films that are popular as well as artistic, going for the dramatic punch that they feel shows how serious they are. When you discount one aspect of a film in an attempt to look at another, you lose perspective of the whole meaning of the award. I always looked at the Oscar as rewarding the best and the brightest. It seems that stopped a few years back and continues to do so this year with THE HURT LOCKER.
Don’t get me wrong. The movie is a good look at the world our military goes through on a day to day basis in war torn countries, this one being Iraq. But with all the movies I saw this past year, this was not the one that I though came near being the best. And Kathryn Bigelow has long deserved notice in Hollywood. Her work in the past was ignored and the making of this film wasn’t done by a major Hollywood studio. That shows how much they truly respect her. The nicest thing about it is that she will now have enough clout to get more of her movies off the ground.
So the story. The film opens with a group of soldiers in an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit. Their job is to dismantle, disarm or explode any bombs that are found in the area they are stationed in. The weapons of choice they most often come into contact with are Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) and they have one here. As they attempt to prevent the bomb from exploding, an insurgent with a cell phone explodes it, killing the group’s leader.
The film moves on to the new leader of the group, the new bomb expert Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner). Sergeant Sanborn (Anthony Mackie), one of the remaining soldiers, welcomes James to Camp Victory which was Camp Liberty but they decided this sounded better. In his quarters, James has taken off the boards covering the windows to let light in. When Sanborn points out they were installed to keep mortar fire from coming through, James points out that the mortars could easily come in through the roof and he prefers the light. As the film progresses, this becomes a telling moment into the psychological state of mind of James.
With only 38 days left of service, the team is sent out to do their job in the city. Completing the group is Specialist Eldridge (Brian Geraghty), also witness to the first death. As they arrive at locations throughout the film to disarm bombs, the cautious Sanborn and Eldridge are perplexed by James willingness to confront danger head on. His unwillingness to follow protocol or to listen to Sanborn leads to a confrontation as well as several hair raising sequences where they set out to save lives by taking the bombs out.
The differences in these men are what make up the meat of the film. Sanborn wants to follow orders and wants to survive, yet he doesn’t see that in James. Eldridge is the most apparently mentally disturbed of the trio, talking with the camp psychiatrist as he deals with the death that surrounds him. But it is James that is the most frightening of the group, living without fear of death, taking apart bombs as if there’s nothing more thrilling to do, trying to find solutions to each one he comes across.
James character is so in tune with his love of danger that he keeps a box of bomb parts and detonators under his bed. It is James’ story that is the focus of the film. He has become so involved in his position that he seeks out danger, that adrenaline rush that comes with it. The problem is that at the same time he puts his men in harm’s way as well.
While the trio evolve into a sense of camaraderie, they also begin to come apart in thanks to James’ need for the rush. With days counting down as the story moves forward, the tensions mount.
Sound like a good movie? Well, it sort of is. But at the same time the tenseness of the situations these men find themselves in is played out in a semi-real time mode. The viewer is required to sit and painstakingly wait as the clock ticks by while bombs are taken out.
While each actor and character are played well, the main focus on James by Renner is exceptional. A young actor just getting notice, Renner portrays a complex series of emotions in James, from the thrill junkie to the tender hearted man who weeps at the sight of a young boy he got to know who appears to be murdered with a bomb planted inside of him later on.
The film confronts some tough issues concerning war and the world we face in Iraq. But the best thing that it does is not take a major stand on the issues. It doesn’t go right or left politically but tells the tale of the men in uniform straight on.
So why didn’t I think it deserved the Oscar for best picture? Because it was long and drawn out, it moved at a snails pace and it didn’t entertain me. Yes, it was well made (with the exception of the hand held jostling camera that seems to have become a favorite lately) and yes it told a compelling story. But I never felt involved, never invested in the characters enough to get into the film.
I know, many people will take exception with my views as to this not being deserving of the award. But when did we decide that gritty, hard tempered films were the only ones deserving? When did films that contained hope become the black sheep? When did movies that made us laugh or sing suddenly become unworthy?
I am a firm believer that most people go to movies to escape the world they live in, to get away from the moments of pain, poverty, anger and down right meanness they are exposed to daily. Those are the movies that inspire and give hope. They deserve to be rewarded. And yet Hollywood continues to choose message films instead. It is because of this that I can’t say this movie deserves the award.
As for a viewing, I’m not even sure I can recommend it for that either. It is tedious at worst and contains fine performances at best. The only way to choose viewing this is making the choice on your own, knowing inside what it is you expect from a film, what you want from one. I know I couldn’t sit through this one again, not due to the content but due to the slowness of it.
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