I watched The Hurt Locker for about the third or fourth time in one of my film classes today, and it still amazes me.
Somehow, it seemed more real to me this time around, maybe too real. I know the film has been controversial, not only because of Kathryn Bigelow’s rivalry with James Cameron, but also because of its portrayal of the Iraq War and the military. Many have said it’s completely unrealistic, others have said it’s as accurate as you can get. Jeremy Renner’s character has also been scrutinized because of his addiction to war and danger. I think critics of Renner’s portrayal have a fair point. Movies can never capture what the experience of war is truly like, and never will, and that goes for the portrayal of soldiers too.
However, I think the emotional core of the film IS real. Not knowing whether you’ll be alive in the next moment is damaging and numbing at the same time, which is expressed thoughtfully in the movie. It’s difficult to relate to Renner’s character, but his companions in the movie are human in every way, and never one-dimensional. And I will forever admire the editing and camerawork because it draws you into the tension of the moment, yet makes you think too.
Watching it this time around, I was struck by the separation between the soldiers and the Iraqis they encountered in their missions. We’re not given the perspective of the Iraqis often, and they’re almost always portrayed unsympathetically. That would’ve been problematic, except that I think that was the point. We’re viewing the story through the soldiers’ perspective—for all they know, any local could set off a bomb or shoot them at any given moment. Every face is unfriendly, except those of their unit.
Definitely watch this, if you haven’t already. It isn’t your typical war movie.
