Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Jarhead / USA/UK / 2005

Once the troops in Sam Mendes Jarhead finally pop their collective military combat cherry, their taskmaster Staff Sgt. Sykes (Jaime Foxx, yet again turning in decent work) turns to our delegate, Swoff (Jake Gyllenhall – whose abilities I’m still undecided on), as both men are silhouetted by the burning oil fields that light up the night sky, and confesses he loves his job because “who else gets to see shit like this?” Ah, the spectacles of war. Never mind the fact that this conversation happens after our troops march through the charred remains of civilians forever frozen in ash, or that it occurs around the same time Swoff stumbles upon an oil-covered horse in the middle of the desert.

As bizarre as these scenes may be, Mendes can’t seem to dig beneath them for anything other than curious images. Mendes imitates the surreal tone chiseled by Coppola, Kubrick, Cimino, and even Denis and Russell, but he doesn’t appear capable or willing to sustain it. Somehow by blatantly incorporating Apocalypse Now and Deer Hunter, not to mention borrowing Dr. Strangelove’s fascination with bodily fluids, Sam Mendes has fashioned the most ambivalent war movie I’ve ever watched. While some degree of balance is always appreciated when examining the issue of war, by merely glancing at morality and politics while focusing on the idea of gratification, Mendes film flies dangerously close to that cinematic no-fly zone no director wants to be stranded in – uninteresting and bland.

The problem may lie in the fact that there really is no conflict here – literally or figuratively. Say what you will about the convenient allegory Stone sculpted in Platoon or the obvious duality Kubrick calculated in Full-Metal Jacket, at least both created tension. Meanwhile Mendes portrays the Desert-Storm was a cock-tease that robbed our young men of their required release, where the biggest source of concern isn’t a Charlie in the bushes, but a Jody back home pilfering your girlfriend while “O.P.P” climbs the charts. That might have been interesting filmmaking if he had denied his audience the same satisfaction that he withholds from his characters. Instead the viewer is allowed to bask in the beautiful images that Mendes seems so eager to create and watch the bravado of his actors.

I’m also wondering if Mendes comprehends the contradictions of his musical choices – he uses Bobby McFerrin’s foolish “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” during basic training, but then drops in Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” for a final celebration. Does he know that one of Chuck D’s most searing lines is “Don’t Worry, Be Happy/ was a number one jam/ Damn if I say it, you can slap me right here”?

Whether Mendes’ celluloid war journal is misguided or just simply a misstep, I will say Peter Sarsgaard’s acting abilities continue to impress me even if he’s always playing similar characters. His breakdown after being denied his climax is just about the best piece within a “for your consideration” performance I’ve seen this year, even if it does serve as another type of discharge.

by Chiranjit Goswami | Source: Universal Pictures 35mm Print
05 Nov 2005 12:07 PM | Submit Comment