day 64 - The Hurt Locker

OK film fans, today I was able to catch up on one of the Best Picture contenders for tomorrows Oscars. It's Saturday night so let's get to it.

The Hurt Locker is a taut, concise war film that focuses on one specific unit in the military: the bomb squad. Staff Sgt. William James (Jeremy Renner in an Oscar nominated performance) is the specialist in this unit, a man not unlike a surgeon or a detective, who both loves and is gifted in his career. James understands bombs and the men who make them with such clear vision that watching him work is fascinating. While he works his back is covered by Sgt. JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Spc. Owen Eldridge. James joined this bomb unit after the SSG before him was killed in an explosion, just 38 days before their tour is up. James is fully aware of his skills and acts both on instinct and a wild streak, the latter of which places his support team in more danger than normal. Each of the soldiers in the unit depicts a different mindset, each with a different defense mechanism for dealing with the pressures of war.

Kathyrn Bigelow directs this film with purpose and clarity. The camera work tells the story without use of words, building tension with protracted scenes and minimal editing. She takes advantage of the elephant in the room by focusing on it without providing the release of music, comedy or quick cut editing. It builds the suspense to near Hitchcock levels while being firmly rooted in reality. I can't say I've seen all of her films, of her 8 full length feature films I've seen 5 (loved Near Dark, Blue Steel was laughably bad and Point Break is a X-Gen classic), but this is easily the best of the bunch. It seems her time away from directing allowed her to gather her thoughts and focus them with intensity not visible in her prior work.

This is a war film with similarities to Black Hawk Down and Three Kings rather than Saving Private Ryan or Apocalypse Now. It focuses entirely on a single story forsaking the backdrop of the surrounding battles. In doing so it creates a more intimate look at the day to day realities of war as well as the price the soldiers pay. It reminds me most of a recent mini-series shown on HBO, the brilliant documentary-like Generation Kill. The Hurt Locker is well acted, directed and edited. It contains moments of brutal honesty and cinematic beauty.

But this is not a Best Picture. The fact that it was nominated along with several other questionable choices in this year's expanded category signifies the lack of depth in the field. It's a very good film with several very good performances and directed with considerable skill. But the work it is similar to is nowhere near the upper echelons of War films. While this is a much smaller and more realistic film, I believe it is overshadowed by the epic and masterful Inglorious Basterds. I enjoyed The Hurt Locker and found it both entertaining and thought provoking. I just didn't buy into the hype. Of course that means it will probably win anywhere from 3 to 5 Oscars.