Jarhead (film)

Hot on the heels of Jake Gyllenhall's performance in Brokeback Mountain is another lead role in boy-heavy movie Jarhead. Based on a book written by ex-Marine Anthony Swofford (played by Gyllenhall), the film encompasses the time before and during the Gulf War from a US Marine's perspective.

Rather than the shoot 'em up action you might expect from a war movie, Jarhead is about the frustrations of war, the lack of combat encountered by the marines. Instead of guns and enemies, the troops' main concern is dealing with infidelity from afar and coping with the sand covered environment. There are no real deaths in the film (save a few from 'friendly fire') and it is the omission of gunfire conflict that makes the film all the more interesting.

While the story arc follows Swofford's entry into the Marines and ends a few years after, his time in the desert is clearly marked as a turning point. Swofford is 20 years old at the time and the film plays more or less in the 'coming of age' genre with military bits thrown in to emphasise discipline and routine hardship. The team aspect also works well, though the interaction is fairly predictable - there are always people you get along with and people you don't. It helps that the operation is catalyst to life-changing moments such as when Swoff threatens Fergus after his Christmas party goes wrong and when Swoff's sniper partner is prevented from completing a shot, the only kill shot available to their unit in the whole film.

Fortunately the lack of action is made up for by peaks of humour and exceptional cinematography, especially their excursion into the desert where they see charred bodies and burning oil wells. One particularly touching scene involves a lost horse covered in oil that Swoff cannot help. The following quote by Swoff quite neatly sums up the film in general:

"Suggested techniques for the marine to use in the avoidance of boredom and loneliness. Masturbation. Re-reading of letters from unfaithful wives and girlfriends. Cleaning your rifle. Further masturbation. Re-wiring Walkman. Arguing about religion and meaning of life. Discussing in detail, every women the marine has ever fucked. Debating differences, such as Cuban versus Mexican, Harleys versus Hondas, left versus right-handed masturbation. Further cleaning of rifle. Studying the mail order bride catalogue. Further masturbation. Planning a marine's first meal on return home. Imagining what a marine's girlfriend and her man Joey are doing in the alley or in a hotel bed."

All the components that make a good film get a start but sadly its the lack of any real conflict that prevents the film from achieving greatness. Then again, it achieves what it sets out to do - give an unglorified account of the marine corps.

*** - lack of action goes where no war film has gone before