The Hurt Locker

I went to see The Hurt Locker at the Art a week ago because I had heard via Roger Ebert that it was not a film to be missed. Normally, I am not a fan of war films--mostly they kind of bore me. However, The Hurt Locker was a drastically different experience for me. It did seem long, but it seems more like the actual tension of the film, and the depth of the characters was what created the length, rather than a plot that doesn't move, or a simply boring film.

The Hurt Locker was gritty and real, shot with hand-held cameras in the tracking sequences, and quite claustrophobic at points, especially when the main character, a bomb expert, dons his large, black, space-age suit. It is exhilarating and terrifying to watch him do his job--especially after seeing the guy he replaced go down in the first five minutes of the movie.

The performances are excellent, especially Jeremy Renner (who remembers him as awesome from S.W.A.T.!). His character seems so simple, yet is so copmlicated, that you spend the whole movie intricately involved in his character. He loves what he does--he cannot exist without it. The opening of the film tells us that war is a drug, and it is incredibly interesting to watch this film about someone who is quite literally addicted to the danger, the excitement, and the adrenaline rush from his work.

I highly recommend the film also, because, for me--who is not a fan of war films--it truly gives a sense of what it might be like to be over there. It unveiled a deep gratitude for our soldiers over their that I did not realize existed, and it made me feel more deeply connected to my own family members who have gone over there and faced all that chaos and danger. Thank you.

My favorite moments of the film:
1. An extreme close up of half the character's face as he comes in contact with a body bomb
2. The moment where the audience realizes that, like most people, he has a hard time distinguishing individuals of a different ethnic group than most Americans.
3. Anytime he is diffusing a bomb: you want tension, just put a guy trying to disarm a bomb with no cinematic clues as to what is going to happen next.
4. The moment when he is in a line trying to pick a cereal from all the meaningless brand names around him.
5. The moment when a woman's name flashes in the director's name spot. Generally, it is not a genre I associate with women, and I am glad to see a woman in a role of importance in such a good film.