Released at the fall 2008 Venice Film Festival, director Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq war drama The Hurt Locker has attracted critics and is now nominated for Best Picture and Best Director.
Yet unlike its competition Avatar - the highest grossing film of all time - you don't need 3-D glasses to be wowed by The Hurt Locker. Shot in Jordan 3 kilometers from the Iraqi border, the film does not rely heavily on special effects. The sandstorms were real. The heat was real. And the misery depicted on the actors' faces often was real as they spent three months shooting in the dry heat of the Middle East.
"Hurt locker" is a slang term for "the place of ultimate hell," and this movie presents just that as it tells the story of an elite group of soldiers on a mission to disarm bombs during the current Iraq War. The film not only depicts the physical pain that these soldiers endure, but it also presents a powerful depiction of the various inner conflicts they go through.
Staff Sgt. William James (Jeremy Renner), Sergeant Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty), walk the thin line between life and death every time they suit up. And James, the reckless team leader, does not help ease his teammates' fears with his adrenaline-seeking leadership style. But there is more to James than meets the eye. With a phenomenal, Oscar-nominated performance, Jeremy Renner allows James' multifaceted personality to shine through, seamlessly shifting between roles as the squad's fearless leader who does not think about death to a conflicted man crying alone in the corner of a running shower.
The viewers' investment in the characters and the reality of their situation is the driving force behind the story. Because they could be blown to bits at any second, viewers will be on the edge throughout the entire film, as Bigelow shows no fear in killing off the most likable characters. Though heroes do not usually die in movies, this threat of death is the reality of war. Thus, Bigelow attempts to realistically portray war through the storyline, as well as through documentary-style cinematography. Called a masterpiece by many critics, The Hurt Locker is acclaimed as a film in its own right, transcending the war movie genre.
With nine nominations at the upcoming Oscars, there is no question whether this is a good movie. The question is whether Bigelow's apt portrayal of a soldier's experience in Iraq will be enough to trump ex-husband James Cameron's revolutionary special effects in his epic film Avatar, which also has nine nominations. But whereas Avatar only shines on the big screen, The Hurt Locker is a film that I would want to watch again and again, regardless of screen size.
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