2008 Woodie Awards
War movie shows life of real solider
Nick Schimmer
Issue date: 11/10/05 Section: Features
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It seems like once a year you can count on Hollywood to sift through all the dreadful movies produced and deliver one that will remain etched in our minds forever, if for no other reason than they give us a dose of what is real.
It takes a particular film to fall under this heading, something so gripping, so powerful it is almost hard to believe what you are watching actually occurred. "Jarhead" is one of those movies.
"Jarhead" is based on real events that occurred in the not-so-distant past. The movie centers on former Marine Anthony Swofford and is based on his book, written about his tour of duty during the first Gulf War.
Swofford is played by Jake Gyllenhaal, a great actor who is finally getting the recognition he deserves as a lead in feature films. The movie follows Swofford from boot camp to the battlefields in Kuwait as he and his platoon are awaiting the opportunity to actually see combat.
Gyllenhaal is countered in the movie by Jamie Foxx, who plays Staff Sgt. Sykes, Swofford's commanding officer. Foxx is another actor who is finally getting the notoriety he deserves after his Oscar-winning depiction of the late Ray Charles in 2004.
The movie deals more with the toll the war takes on an individual psychologically and emotionally as the company is waiting for battle. There are rifts that grow between the soldiers, and you can see them starting to teeter on the brink of madness; 175 days in the desert with nothing to do can do that to a person.
The movie also deals with the hardships soldiers must face when dealing with matters back home -- being alienated from everyone they know and love and feeling isolated despite being among their company.
The movie does at times borrow from its predecessors. The opening boot camp scene pays homage to the opening scene in Full Metal Jacket, another brilliant war film that captured the sentiment of the Vietnam War.
Most war movies made nowadays deal with combat itself, using strong depictions of violence to bring home the feel of war (see "Saving Private Ryan"), but this movie deals with a whole new monster, an internal one every soldier at one time or another must deal with.
The movie has its comedic moments with the bonds the soldiers share and the grief they get from their commanding officer (Foxx). But overall the movie deals with a reality that was not often discussed in a war that seemed to be handled with relative ease to all of us at home.
Gyllenhaal and Foxx give performances nothing short of Oscar-worthy, and director Sam Mendes ("Road to Perdition") worked with a very talented cast to bring Swofford's story to life.
While there have been many blockbuster films hit the screen this year, none have been as powerful and as moving as this film. It is clearly in a class by itself.
It takes a particular film to fall under this heading, something so gripping, so powerful it is almost hard to believe what you are watching actually occurred. "Jarhead" is one of those movies.
"Jarhead" is based on real events that occurred in the not-so-distant past. The movie centers on former Marine Anthony Swofford and is based on his book, written about his tour of duty during the first Gulf War.
Swofford is played by Jake Gyllenhaal, a great actor who is finally getting the recognition he deserves as a lead in feature films. The movie follows Swofford from boot camp to the battlefields in Kuwait as he and his platoon are awaiting the opportunity to actually see combat.
Gyllenhaal is countered in the movie by Jamie Foxx, who plays Staff Sgt. Sykes, Swofford's commanding officer. Foxx is another actor who is finally getting the notoriety he deserves after his Oscar-winning depiction of the late Ray Charles in 2004.
The movie deals more with the toll the war takes on an individual psychologically and emotionally as the company is waiting for battle. There are rifts that grow between the soldiers, and you can see them starting to teeter on the brink of madness; 175 days in the desert with nothing to do can do that to a person.
The movie also deals with the hardships soldiers must face when dealing with matters back home -- being alienated from everyone they know and love and feeling isolated despite being among their company.
The movie does at times borrow from its predecessors. The opening boot camp scene pays homage to the opening scene in Full Metal Jacket, another brilliant war film that captured the sentiment of the Vietnam War.
Most war movies made nowadays deal with combat itself, using strong depictions of violence to bring home the feel of war (see "Saving Private Ryan"), but this movie deals with a whole new monster, an internal one every soldier at one time or another must deal with.
The movie has its comedic moments with the bonds the soldiers share and the grief they get from their commanding officer (Foxx). But overall the movie deals with a reality that was not often discussed in a war that seemed to be handled with relative ease to all of us at home.
Gyllenhaal and Foxx give performances nothing short of Oscar-worthy, and director Sam Mendes ("Road to Perdition") worked with a very talented cast to bring Swofford's story to life.
While there have been many blockbuster films hit the screen this year, none have been as powerful and as moving as this film. It is clearly in a class by itself.