Jarhead is offensive. Within about 30 seconds of the actors popping on the screen, it has the R rating secured. Unlike so many other movies though, Jarhead has a purpose to its gratuitous sex and language. It's part of the harsh reality the soldiers are stuck inside, slowly taking a turn for the worse as the first Gulf War continues on without them.
In that R rating, you won't see violence listed. While there is death, Jarhead is a war movie without war. Jake Gyllenhaal leads an unbelievable cast as a young soldier mentally demolished by military desensitization. His sanity is the focus, not the bombs dropping around him or the oil burning behind him. His performance carries the movie in a gripping and believable manner, while supporting roles from Jamie Foxx and Peter Sarsgaard add to the story.
Director Sam Mendes doesn't direct many movies, but every project he takes is a smart one. From the Academy Award winning American Beauty to Tom Hanks' drama Road to Perdition, he knows what should be put on film. Jarhead is beautiful in how its shot, and ugly in what it depicts. Its images are unforgettable, and burned into the mind of anyone who watches it. It also features the best kind of special effects: the ones you don't even know are there.
It may take a more conditioned audience time to accept where this film is going. Without a body count or soldiers constantly firing rifles, you'll likely question if there's a point for the first hour. The marketing indicted this was something else entirely.
Jarhead has the moment where things rapidly swing around for dramatic effect. However, it's too sharp of a turn. The build up towards a near-friendly fire incident is there, just not as gradual as it should have been. As such, Gyllenhaal's character comes off differently than he should. The same can be said for a lot of the troops whose actions are simply disgusting and hard to buy into.
There's also an extended segment of interviews with a reporter. Here's where the film becomes more than a movie. Based on the strengths of the performances, you cannot tell these men are actors. That's what makes Jarhead different, making TV interviews into a critical plot point and finely acted cinema. Nearly every minute of Jarhead is that incredible, and it deserves to be watched by anyone of appropriate age. (**** out of *****)
Jarhead is a unique challenge for DVD. The color filters used are all over the place, from a contrasting, blinding sheen to black levels that fall into the purple range. It's hard to even put into words, but the disc handles this admirably. Its main problems come from compression in some late scenes involving the burning oil and a bright orange sky. These are a mess with every block of compression visible and jumping around to the moving light. It's technically perfect beyond that, but it's hard to tell with the extreme color and purposeful grain. (****)
Article comments
1 - Guppusmaximus
This movie wasn't one of my favorites nor will I ever watch it again, but, it did remind me of what downtime is like in the Marines.Very Juvenile.I did like the part when the sharpshooters are waiting to pick off an enemy officer.
Why is there so much swearing?? Because 85% of the Marines that are out patrolling are usually 18-23 years of age(usually a "Boot") and that is one,unfortunate as it may be,of the many attributes that is instilled in them during bootcamp. My D.I.'s swore at me sooo much I thought I learned a second language. Oh well, so much for memory lane... Nice Review.
2 - Victor Plenty
In modern war, many soldiers experience little but tedium throughout. I can't claim to know this from personal experience, but I have read enough real soldiers' narratives to know it anyway. So calling this "a war movie without war" is far from accurate. It puts less effort into glamorizing war, as something more exciting and meaningful than it really is, than most ordinary Hollywood productions. By avoiding this cliche, it becomes one of the few war movies to reveal anything really true about war.
3 - Scott Butki
Do you think this would be a good movie for a discussion? I lead movie discussions but this one may be too crude.