Jarhead
Rated R; Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard
and Chris Cooper
Directed by Sam Mendes
There’s
a scene in “Jarhead” in which a helicopter flies by with the radio blaring to
The Doors’ song “Break On Through.” This angers Tony Swoffard (better known as “Swoff”),
who remarks: “That’s
In
all honesty,
With
that said, “Jarhead” isn’t exactly “Welcome To The
Suck,” as the poster’s tagline suggests.
Rather, it’s an entertaining war film that often captures the essence of
the Gulf War – a war that wasn’t nearly as exciting as
Based
on a 2003 best-selling memoir, “Jarhead,” stars Jake Gyllenhaal
as Swoff, a marine sniper who dreams of firing his
gun before the war is over. He never
gets to; nobody does. In fact, for a war
film, there’s very little violence in “Jarhead,” which separates it from typical
war films.
Rather,
“Jarhead” is a film that rises above war violence to study the characters
involved in the battle, and there are plenty of interesting ones.
Swoff is
the most memorable, thanks to a notable performance from Gyllenhaal,
who brings charm and understanding to the frustrated soldier.
Jamie
Foxx is also very memorable as Sykes, an uncompromising but forgiving Staff
Sergeant who forces his men pay for their mistakes by cleaning out the
outhouses.
Many
of the film’s funniest moments are a result of the relationship between Sykes
and his soldiers. In one scene, Sykes
orders his men to play football in their gas-repellent suits in front of a
television crew, which eventually results with the men stripping down in front
of the cameras.
In
another scene, Sykes forces Swoff to hum song tunes
in front of the other soldiers, because he was late for training.
Along
with its humor, the film also strives because it is able to capture the
characters involved in the war. Many
movies portray soldiers as pot-smoking lower class folks who have nothing to
lose.
In
reality, many are middle class citizens who find honor in their country and are
dedicated – which is exactly how they’re portrayed in “Jarhead.”
“Jarhead”
also captures the loneliness and boredom that can quickly drive the soldiers
insane. In one scene, Swoff – frustrated about his girlfriend’s new friend and
angry about getting into trouble – points a loaded gun at his teammate’s face
and then requests to be shot instead.
At
times, “Jarhead” is a very good war film, which is what we’d expect from the
director of “American Beauty.”
Mendes,
who also directed “Road to Perdition,” needs to be respected for taking on
another unique project. Yet, “Jarhead”
is nowhere near the quality of his previous two films.
The
film drags on too long near the end, and loses focus when it begins to concentrate
on the soldiers’ lives outside of the war.
Although
it may lose some of its juice near the end, “Jarhead” is still very much worth
seeing, thanks to its rare honesty and standout first half.
I’d
compare the film closely to Stanley Kubrick’s “Full
Metal Jacket,” another war comedy that falls apart when it begins to focus on
the war rather than its characters.
As
a result, “Full Metal Jacket” went on to receive only one Academy Award
nomination (for best screenplay).
Perhaps the same will happen to “Jarhead,” a film that was once widely
considered as an Oscar frontrunner.
Grade: B