Based on the book by Anthony Swofford
Screenplay by William Broyles Jr..
Directed by Sam Mendes.

---Cast
Jake Gyllenhaal as Anthony “Swoff” Swofford
Peter Sarsgaard as Troy
Jamie Foxx as Sgt. Siek
Brian Casey as Stupid Marine
Chris Cooper as Lieutenant Colonel Kazinski

Jarhead is the true story of former Marine Anthony “Swoff” Swofford's Marine boot camp training and experiences during the Gulf War, which is based on his best-selling 2003 memoir. A third-generation enlistee, the film follows his sobering experiences in boot camp through his time in Kuwait, sporting a sniper's rifle and a hundred-pound ruck on his back through deserts with no cover from intolerable heat, raining oil, or Iraqi soldiers, always potentially just over the next horizon.

I saw this film on August 18th and thought it was pretty good. The first five minutes of this film, which show Swoff’s arrival in boot camp, were like a punch in the face. Do you remember the first half of Full Metal Jacket, featuring R. Lee Ermey? That’s what this first scene is like. It’s both thrilling, disturbing and funny, as Swoff’s drill sergeant shows the new recruit no mercy, and sets the tone for the movie to follow, a raw, often times profane and harrowing journey in which Swoff and his fellow Marines fight to sustain themselves and their humanity in the blazing desert fields of a country they don't understand against an enemy they can’t see for a cause they don't fully fathom. We see the horror of friendly fire, a brutal hazing ritual for newly enlisted Marines that Swoff is subjected to, the frustration of equipment that doesn’t work, the resentment they feel when asked to give positive opinions in interviews with reporters (as well as when they are told to sign waivers when given pills to protect them from gas attacks that are not tested themselves) the bawdiness of the games and other festivities they engage in to relieve tension, the boredom of waiting for action, the pain of separation the troops feel from lovers they fear will not be there for them upon their return, and the frightening times when some soldiers threaten to snap.

But unlike other films on the Gulf War that take sides, Jarhead reads like a straight telling of Swofford’s personal account, sticking to a dispassionate telling of his experiences without forcing an opinion. Rather than being structured with a specific setup-payoff structure with formula character arcs, the movie simply tells the story of Swoff’s stint in the war as a dispassionate observer, allowing us to make up our own minds about the war. This illustrated by the fact some in the audience thought the film was anti-war or anti-military, whereas others thought it was pro-military. The problem with this thinking that is that some conclude that any depiction of something that a viewer may see as negative means that the filmmaker itself is anti-whatever, but I disagree. If the film simply provides true and accurate accounts, then it is neither pro or anti anything, and the viewer who draws their conclusions.

For those expecting every detail to tie together, some elements may come off as extraneous, as when Swoff, slugging through the oil-drenched deserts with the oil fires in the background, with oil raining down on him, comes across a horse who walks away after Swoff pets him. This may cause some to wonder what the point of it is, but because I saw the movie as one man’s journal of his experiences, I didn’t see it that way. Not all events in life have meaning or relevance to one another, but are included as interesting anecdotes for their own sake. Another example is when Swoff and his squad come across a Bedouin group in the distance, and they must decide how to approach them, given the possibility that the Bedouins are actually armed troops concealing weapons. Some in the audience expressed the opinion that the film dragged in spots where the troops were waiting for action, and pointed to this scene as an anticlimactic example, but I never got that from it. The point of the scene was not to provide gratuitous gunplay, but to illustrate the uncertainty troops face when encountering the unknown, and when they know that their lives might be at stake.

Jake Gyllenhaal turns in a wonderful performance, as does Peter Sarsgaard, who plays Troy, his closest friend in the unit. Jamie Foxx’s supporting performance was EXCELLENT. After years of seeing him in roles playing goofy comedy roles, and the meek cab driver in Collateral, he effectively conveys a commanding authority as the troops’ commander, a career military man who never once betrays a hint that he’s anything other than all-business.

While opinions were mixed, most thought it was a mostly good film, and I really enjoyed it, as it made me think and feel, something that too many films do not do, and it did this without gratuitous violence. It should be noted, however, that this movie is not for kids. It features copious amounts of nudity and sexual situations, lots of profanity, and while it does not feature a lot of large amounts of gratuitous violence, there are the understandable aftermath scenes of war dead, and some intense scenes involving friendly fire situations. It is a war movie, after all, and a good one.

This was a very good film. The previews are misleading in nearly every respect, making it seem as if the film is merely about Swoff becoming disillusioned as he is confronted by the horrors of war. This isn't really the case at all.

The movie's basic style is what I would call immersion. The camera effects and acting give the viewer the same feeling as a lot of the characters. Thus, in the scenes when it appears as if an attack might happen, the viewer has the same palpable feeling of tension and anticipation. And when nothing happens (as it does so often in the film), the viewer feels disappointed and teased, as did the soldiers. Mendes plays with his audience, subverting expectations (none more so than the climax).

The same sort of thinking comes through in the characters. Jamie Foxx's commanding officer is a capable man. He's not a tyrant, nor is too good to be true. He's also, contrary to the previews, not psycho. Those expecting a paint-by-numbers cliche will be disappointed. The other soldiers form definite types (nervous guy, jerk, smartmouth), but their "arcs," so to speak, never follow movie conventions. The jerk never receives a comeuppance. The nervous guy does not get mailed home to ma in a body bag.

The performances are quite fine. Foxx seems entirely at ease on screen, while Gyllenhaal contributes his breakthrough performance. Peter Sarsgaard, frequently wasted in films, delivers possibly the best job--he seems like his typical "sidekick to main character" role at the beginning, but quickly shows he's an acting force to be reckoned with. Well played cameoes by Chris Cooper and Dennis Haysbert enliven the proceedings.

One thing that may surprise some viewers is how funny the movie is. At our audience, there was some nervous laughter at first, perhaps wondering if it was all right to laugh. But it soon became very natural. Like the soldiers, sometimes the only response to insanity is to just laugh. Mendes frequently uses ironic usages of songs in order to get his point across.

I also really enjoyed how non-political the film is. The few times a message is espoused it is coming from the mouth of one of the more annoying characters in the film. Saarsgard's character captures the essence of the film when he says that politics doesn't matter because they're here. That's exactly the point. Gyllenhaal's Swoff doesn't care about politics; he's more interested in keeping his girlfriend. The ending's point is oblique, inviting the viewer to develop his or her own "lesson" from the movie.