I have to be honest, the prospect of yet another war film set in the middle east was not especially at the top of my list of potential cinema trips. In fact I had made the bold decision to skip The Hurt Locker entirely despite the fair amount of oscar buzz that has preceded it. In the end however, due to the sheer amount of positive press it received I decided to swallow my predjudice and give it a try...
The film focuses on three U.S Army bomb squad members in Iraq and the challenges they face in dealing with diffusing said bombs, alongside attempts at insurgency from the local people and of course their own individual internal battles with their personal demons. Bigelow is an interesting director; as one of the few prevalent female directors working in Hollywood her films could not be further from the lighthearted froth provided by such contempories as Nora Ephron or Nancy Meyers. Her works take place in typically masculine settings (Point Break, K:19) and The Hurt Locker is no exception. The film is concerned with the psychology of the three characters and their response to their extreme situation yet refreshingly, it does not slip down the predictable route of focusing on the misery and destruction that is so often the product of war. To the contrary, in the form of Sergeant William James, Jeremy Renner portrays a man who clearly revels in the excitement and adrenaline rush that arises from his participation in conflict.
One of the film's strengths is that it follows a bomb disposal unit which clearly lends itself to scenes of unbearable tension and rather than making use of a developing plot, the audience is offered a succession of these excrutiating vignettes. Camerawork is at times frenetic, shaky and often handheld greatly contributing to the authenticity and overall 'docu-drama' feel that is another of the its strong points. The senses are assaulted throughout by the sounds of gunshots and explosions, the sight of the parched deserts and streets of Jordan (an ideal stand-in for Iraq the borderline of which was a mere 10 miles away from their location of filming) and one can almost feel the punishing heat and physical exertion imposed on the soldiers. The characters are presented well by the three main cast members who each represent a differing attitude to their position in the conflict but it is Renner who steals the limelight with a challenging portrayal of a man seemingly lost when at home with his wife and child, but totally at home with machine gun in hand and life in serious jeopardy.
The lack of a plot is a slight weakness as the succession of predicaments that the soldiers find themselves in slowly start to outstay their welcome with their effect beginning to feel less shocking and more wearying. It cannot be denied though that The Hurt Locker is a kinetic and exhilarating piece. Viewers are thrown into the action right alongside the men and the experience is real: no-one is guaranteed survival, war means different things to different people and perhaps most intriguingly, it sure as hell can be exciting.
4/5.
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