Jarhead (2005)

 

 

            In 2003, Marine veteran Anthony Swofford had a bestseller with “Jarhead:  A Marine Chronicle of the Persian Gulf War and Other Battles”.  “Jarhead” is Marine slang for their haircuts.  Swofford sold the rights to the book for $2 million.  The movie was directed by Sam Mendes (“1917”).  The screenplay did not impress the Department of Defense, so the film was given no cooperation.  The military found the movie to be too unrealistic in depicting Marine life.  The movie was filmed in sequence in California.  The movie made $97 million, but lost money.  There have been three direct-to-video sequels. 

            The film opens at boot camp.  Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) narrates.  He’s not sure if he has made the right decision in joining the military, and yet, he volunteers to become a sniper.  The training is intense and includes a death during a live fire exercise.  The men are gung-ho and cheer during a viewing of the “Apocalypse Now” helicopter assault.  The naivete of America’s modern warriors is on display.  The unit is sent to Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Desert Shield.  They are led by the charismatic Staff Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx).  The excitement is soon replaced by boredom and frustration.  They all want “to see the elephant”, but it takes over 170 days in the heat to hear the bugles blow charge.  To kill time the movie reenacts some typical young Marine activities.  They gamble on scorpion fights.  They play football in chemical gear.  And you sit and wonder if your girlfriend is being chaste.  Finally, it’s go-time, but the war is not what John Wayne showed it would be.  They encounter friendly fire for A-10s.  They witness the Highway of Death which assures them that war can be hell.  They see the oil wells on fire, so they learn firsthand that war is not good for the environment.  Swofford and his spotter Cpl. Alan Troy (Peter Sarsgaard) are tasked with hunting down an enemy officer.

            People interested in soldier life know that when soldiers go to war a large part of their experience does not involve combat.  “Jarhead” reflects that by sticking to Swofford’s actual time in combat and not enhancing it with a lot of bang.  In fact (spoiler alert), the movie has none.  It is best viewed as a look at what soldiers do before they go into combat.  There’s a lot of waiting.  The unit is heterogeneous and bonds in spite of that.  There is a desire to be blooded.  And there is a lot of suppressed sexual energy.  This is the strength of the film.  It realistically portrays the soldier camaraderie and banter.  This is the modern American volunteer Marines.  Clearly, none of the unit had been in Vietnam.  Naivete and immaturity is on full display.  However, that is countered by a strong desire to kill for their country.  Swofford’s experience when it comes to that is very frustrating.  (Strangely, Troy is the one who cracks.)  This fits one of the themes of the book -  the war left many of the men scarred emotionally.  It ends with the line:  “we are still in the desert”.  However, since the unit saw no action and had no losses, this seems an odd takeaway.  Vietnam veterans who watch the film might find the PTSD theme laughable.  Although, maybe for Swofford’s generation, waiting and then not getting what you want would be traumatic.

            The depiction of Marine life is what prevented Pentagon cooperation, but all of it seems in character to me.  So, I will theorize that the military did not think its depiction would be good for recruiting.  The specific things the DOD was upset about were the Marine being killed in training with no repercussions, a sniper team being abandoned and forgotten, and the party atmosphere of the end of the war.  I see their point of view, but I do not find those scenes to be beyond possible. 

            The movie is best watched as an alternative to reading the book.  It is not as good as a tutorial on the Persian Gulf War.  Just as the Marines had little idea of the big picture, the audience will not be enlightened either.  It does manage to throw in some of the greatest hits, like the friendly fire, the Highway of Death, and the burning oil wells.  Speaking of hits, the movie does have a nice soundtrack of hit songs.  And the acting is fine from the big three of Gyllenhaal, Foxx, and Sarsgaard.  Foxx does a great job as the modern cinematic sergeant.  Just don’t expect them to fire their weapons at anything but the sky.  “Jarhead” is the opposite of combat porn.  And it’s not a sniper movie.

 

GRADE  =  B-

Jarhead (8) vs. 300 (9)

ACTING: Both movies have fine casts and are well acted. Jake Gyllenhaal as Anthony Swofford does a good job portraying a Marine sniper who is tested mentally and physically by the stress of waiting for combat and then combat itself. Gerard Butler as King Leonidas gives a powerful performance and captures the arrogance of a Spartan king. The supporting casts are strong in both movies. 300 includes a break-out performance by Lena Hedey as Leonidas’ wife. Jarhead has the ever reliable Jamie Foxx as the gruff sergeant. I give a slight edge to 300.

Score after one period: 300 – 8 Jarhead – 7

REALISM: Jarhead is based on an acclaimed memoir. If we assume Swofford was telling the truth, then the movie should be pretty realistic. However, the book and movie have been criticized for being melodramatic and over the top in its depiction of the behavior of young Marines. It seems unlikely all the wild incidents could have happened to the same platoon. Swofford almost killing a fellow soldier is an example. However, the movie deserves credit for portraying war as a lot of waiting and not a lot of combat. The attitudes of the Marines seem authentic. 300 is not supposed to be realistic. It is true to the spirit of the graphic novel by Frank Miller. Given that qualification, it is surprisingly close to the real story in several areas – Spartan training, weapons and tactics, and attitudes. Under the circumstances it is fair to give it a default 6.

Score after the second period: Jarhead – 15 300 - 14

ACCURACY: It is hard to judge the accuracy of Jarhead. We have to rely on Swofford’s word for some of it. Some of the incidents seem exaggerated at the least. The crucial scene where he is denied his opportunity to get a kill is changed in the movie for dramatic effect. The Highway of Death scene is highly unlikely. On the other hand, 300 is based around the Battle of Thermopylae, but is not meant to be a history lesson. It is surprisingly accurate for a movie that is so extravagant. The basics of the battle are there. Several of the main characters are based on real people. If you throw out the fantastic elements and the subplot of government treachery, it is acceptable as history.

Score after the third period: Jarhead – 23 300 – 20

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: Jarhead suffers from lack of action. The accurate depiction of how most soldiers do not get to kill in combat is admirable, but ultimately unfulfilling. Swofford’s descent into mental breakdown because of his obsession with his girlfriend’s infidelity is not really believable. Several members of the unit show stress related disorders when in fact they had not been through anything particularly harsh. 300 was a revolutionary movie. Nothing like it had been seen before, at least in a war movie. The visuals are stunning and the combat scenes are mesmerizing. The fact that this cinema eye candy was structured around a true story and had strong acting to go with the effects make it a special movie.

Final Score:      Acting     Realism    Accuracy    Enter.    Final

Jarhead                 7              8                 8                 6          29

300                       8               6                6                 10        30

"March Madness"

With the NCAA basketball tournament starting this week I got the idea to have a bracket to determine the best war movie made since 2001. I chose the competitors and seeded them based on Rotten Tomatoes. The first round matches will be based on acting, accuracy, entertainment value, and realism. Each category will be on a scale of 1-10. After the first round, victory will be based on my judgment. Here are the matchups:


1 - The Hurt Locker
16 - Pearl Harbor

3 - Inglorious Basterds
14 - The Great Raid

5 - Flags of Our Fathers
12 - Enemy at the Gates

7 - We Were Soldiers
10 - Defiance

8 - Jarhead
9 - 300

6 -  Master and Commander
11 - Troy

4 - Black Hawk Down
13 - Kingdom of Heaven

2 - Letters from Iwo Jima
15 - Flyboys

I will post the "game" summaries periodically starting Thursday. Feel free to make predictions and criticisms.