 "Photo: Courtesy of NY Times")
Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) is a man who is good at his job. He goes at it witch such tenacity and charisma you can't help, but believe in him. What is his job you say? Well he dismantles roadside bombs as part of the Army Explosive Ordinance Disposal (AEOD). Katheryn Bigelow's “The Hurt Locker” is an exhilarating film that bypasses the politics of the Iraq War and concentrates on a man who is good at his job.
The film opens with a quotation reading “The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug ”. This quotation sets out the theme of the film and attitude of James. He is a roguish, against authority, bomb defuser who is assigned to a new outfit. He immediately hits a negative chord with his battalion after refusing to wear his bomb suit, because as he says, “If I die, I want to die comfortable.”
Renner has this aura around him will playing James. James has disarmed almost 1,000 bombs and he brings this renegade attitude, but it's not this typical male machismo; you can also see a sensitive, human side to him. There is a scene where he shows off memento's from the bombs he has disarmed saying, “it's stuff that almost killed me.” The fact that he saves bomb parts shows that he is thankful for being alive.
Renner gives off this visceral projection from the job, he doesn't need pretentious speeches to show off his skills. There is this arrogance in him, but you are alright with it because he is so good at it and you feel so comfortable with him. You know that he will get the job done one way or another. Roger Ebert made the point by saying, “He isn't an action hero, he's a specialist.”
It's also amazing to see such a visceral, real film directed by a woman. I feel like woman directors too often get pigeonholed into romantic comedies and don't get to show off their skills. I believe they need more opportunities like “The Hurt Locker.” But Katheryn Bigelow has shown she can really, really direct. She starts with people first, than action. She set's up the story with the characters to make sure we can relate to them. She shows men at their jobs, not soldiers in war. She has created great male characters with out adhering to stereotypes. They are refreshing in the fact that they are all complicated in some ways.
Bigelow has also done a great job in creating a war movie that really isn't about the war. Bigelow does not focus on the politics or the hierarchy of the military. She shows men at their jobs, not soldiers in war. Bigelow has made it that she can create scenes of suspense with just quick two or three second shots. The suspense is real not artificial.
“The Hurt Locker” is a intelligent, action film. It is an emotional, character driven picture, but I think action fans will be quite happy with the results.
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