Marine Life Shown in Objective Light

by: Josh Marks

Twenty-year-old Marine sniper Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhall) is not your average military recruit. He reads Camus, speaks Arabic and says lines like “every war is different, every war is the same.” The new film “Jarhead” by director Sam Mendes (“American Beauty,” “Road to Perdition”) is loosely based on the memoir the real-life Swofford wrote of his time in the Corps during the first Persian Gulf War.

The movie is a straightforward account of Swofford’s experience from a smart but inexperienced enlistee at Camp Pendleton to a world-weary veteran after serving in Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield. Jamie Foxx plays Staff Sgt. Sykes, who prepares the Marines for a battle they might never see. Peter Sargaard plays Troy, who becomes buddies with Swofford when they are both assigned sniper duty.

“Jarhead” is visually stunning, especially when the oil fields are set on fire. The performances are all excellent and Foxx and Gyllenhall bring real depth to their roles. The scenes during boot camp and their initial arrival in the Middle East are compelling. However, the movie really falters during the monotony of sitting around in the desert waiting for some action. This was a chance for Mendes to create tension in anticipation of battle and also develop the characters more. Instead they just sort of go through the motions and the ending feels contrived.

Overall the film is an interesting look into the journey of one Marine who is book-smart but who slowly self-destructs in the blazing desert heat fighting for a cause that he and his compatriots aren’t completely sure about. “Jarhead” does a good job of not taking sides and, in the understated tone of the book the movie is based on, shows the everyday life of the Marines beyond the sensationalized footage the news networks broadcast into living rooms across America.