THE HURT LOCKER REVIEW

THE HURT LOCKER tells the story of Staff Sgt. William James (Jeremy Renner), Sgt. J.T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) who are members of a bomb-disposal unit posted in Iraq. Amidst violent conflict these men are pitted against deadly bombs that only James seems to meet with reckless abandon. His team attempts to cope with this ‘wild man’ while trying to keep themselves safe and dealing with their own personal issues.

Kathryn Bigelow gives us a movie that is both forceful and frank. Packed to the gills with action and suspense Kathryn and screenwriter Mark Boal give us a unique look at the lives of soldiers at war. It is no small wonder that the movie has won 6 Academy Awards on top of being nominated for 3 more. Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty work so well together that it’s almost impossible to imagine that this is all a performance. Jeremy plays the cocky team leader whose sole focus is the job at hand, Anthony plays the responsible second in command whose stringent adherence to protocol clashes with his leader’s daredevil attitude and finally Brian plays the damaged but good-natured soldier whose at odds with himself.

The true genius of this film, however, is two-fold. Firstly, the beautiful cinematography of Barry Ackroyd doesn’t just impress, it enthralls and immerses. We are no longer observers of this daring team, we are part of it. The handheld shots, the cutaways of rubbish strewn streets and sometimes low-angled shots all come together to create this sense of realism that permeates throughout – the camera never once apologizes for it’s almost documentary-like feel. The film even breaks some rules of cinematography with jarring effectiveness – the scene where the team is clearing out a building, the camera breaks the 180 degree rule only adding to the tension within the scene.

Secondly, the work of Bob Murawski and Chris Innis in the field of editing can only, in my opinion, be considered as masterful. This film is all about tension and the rhythmic ticking of a menacing clock. If we, for a moment, take a clock and observe how the arms move – it’s rhythmic, mechanical and jittery at the same time. The editing for this film has that effect, of a clock that’s ticking away in seconds, minutes and hours. The most dramatic moments give us quick cuts, jumping from one point of view to another building a tension which represents the second hand. While the slower, more paced moments feature longer drawn out shots with techniques like elliptical editing which represent the hour and minute hand. Like a clock constantly ticking away the film’s editing uses this rhythm to blur the concept of time where seconds feel like hours and hours feel like seconds.

All of this comes together to create a movie that thrusts you into the battlefield with a carelessness akin to Sgt. James. If you find yourself holding your breath during moments of tension, you may want to avoid this film – you just might be holding it for the full 131 minutes of running time.