Screen Scene

Jarhead Directed by Sam Mendes Universal
Pictures

“Jarhead” is a disappointing film, and that actually
might be the best thing it has going for it. Based on the
best-selling memoirs of former U.S. Marine Anthony Swofford, the
latest from “American Beauty” director Sam Mendes
follows the experiences of a group of Marines in Operation Desert
Storm. However, setting it apart from the carnage of many a war
movie before it, “Jarhead” mainly amounts to a lot of
waiting, watching, and frustration.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays Swofford, a wide-eyed enlistee who goes
from boot camp to selection as a sniper in the elite STA Platoon.
The day-to-day grind of uneventful duty gradually begins to take
its toll on Swofford and his companions, who struggle not to lose
their minds, their hydration levels or their girlfriends back home.
When action does hit, the Marines realize to their disappointment
that a war on flat terrain is not won on foot, and that the
fighting is almost always a step ahead of them.

The film is defined by what it is not as much as by what it is.
There are next to no combat scenes or politics to be found here;
“(Forget) politics. We’re here now. And that’s
all that matters,” one character declares. Mendes does an
admirable job of getting inside the mind-set of the Marines and
conveying this nagging sense of disappointment; the audience begins
to sympathize and wait impatiently with them.

But as the troops wait in Saudi Arabia for the first half of the
film, Mendes makes the mistake of trying to keep the film involving
despite the monotony of the situation. Episodic details of everyday
life ““ a football game, a Christmas party ““ are punched
up with music and editing, and the overall tone lacks
consistency.

For a film so bent on realism, it fails to convincingly immerse
the viewer. The slew of familiar faces on screen is a continuing
distraction, as each actor (with the possible exception of Jamie
Foxx as Staff Sgt. Siek) more or less plays a variation of his
public persona. The credits claim Gyllenhaal plays Swofford, but
it’s probably more accurate to say he’s just playing
Jake Gyllenhaal with a six-pack. Evan Jones essentially transplants
his goofy-kid character from “8 Mile” straight into the
picture. The film also never fails to look professionally shot,
right down to the shaky handheld stuff. This would usually be a
good thing, but it becomes increasingly difficult to shake the
feeling that a movie is being watched.

“Jarhead” still contains several great images and
moments, including a chance encounter with a horse in the Iraqi oil
fields, as well as the film’s climax. It is the film’s
unevenness, however, that ultimately prevents it from achieving its
ambitions.

““ Alfred Lee