The true story of Anthony Swofford, a 20 year old recruit in United States Marine Corps.
His time training, as a sniper, and eventually being shipped off to Saudi Arabia to assist with the Persian Gulf War, and the Desert Shield, and Desert Storm conflicts.
Direction
Directed by Sam Mendes, who captures the gritty wartime brilliantly. I loved his use of bright, almost blinding lights depicting the harsh environments that the men live in. This is contrasted by some stunning uses of dark and colours during the oil burning.
This moment is visually stunning and one of the standouts of the film.
Cast/Characters
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Swofford, once again (and in one of his earlier works) showing his phenomenal talent in front of the camera.
Peter Sarsgaard plays one of his best friends, and fellow ‘Jarheads’ Alan Troy. His arc is heartbreaking as he desperately wants to be a lead sniper (but is given the task of spotter). He is more reserved, and educated than those around him).
Jamie Foxx plays their staff sergeant Sykes.
Other cast of recognition are Lucas Black, Evan Jones, Chris Cooper, Dennis Haysbert and John Krasinski.
Breakdown
Based on the novel of the same name, by the real life Anthony Swafford, this is a biographical film, that starts in 1989, with Swafford joining the United States Marine Cops.
He goes through brutal training (where accidental fire kills a recruit), struggles to make friends – but eventually finds one in Alan Troy, and even is noticed by Sniper trainer Sykes. When Kuwait is invaded by Iraq – he and his fellow graduates of Sykes’ group head to Saudi Arabia for ‘Operation Desert Shield’ protecting the oil fields of Saudi Arabia.
While there they spend months with almost nothing to do. They spend their days in monotony, and repetition. There are some fun moments where they do ‘break rank’ by having some parties (including the hilarious fireworks scene) – and then some of the brutal punishments they must endure (overhyrdation and changing of the long drop bins).
They also must face the isolation of being away from loved ones, which adds to their inner turmoil – as some of the men discover that their wives and partners are cheating on them. There is no assistance of their mental health, and the battle fatigue that they face is completely ignored.
This is somewhat ironic, as both Swofford, and Troy actually never even get to fire their weapons once in the entire time they are away. There is one scene towards the end of the film, where Troy (having learned he has been kicked out of the service, and will no longer be able to serve on his return to the US) begs a major to allow him ‘just one kill’ but is denied. His death post the war is not specified as what caused it, but the man who he is based on passed due to a car accident one year after the war.
Normally I don’t often like narration throughout films, but I found the use of it to be useful to help understand the mindset of Swafford and those around him.
Overall
With great performances, mesmerising direction – this is a strong recommend.
4/5
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