The Hurt Locker | 2009
Genre: War
Author : Srivathsa
Synopsis: Best of Iraq War movies
I haven’t watched any of Kathryn Bigelow’s films yet. ‘The Hurt Locker” was my first
and I’m impressed. This is one of the very few films that have all the ingredients
of war, emotions associated with it and life, in the recent times. “The Hurt Locker”
is daunting, powerful and quite suspenseful at every moment.
“The Hurt Locker’ is about the chaos in Baghdad and particularly about the US army
bomb squad. The story revolves around the Bravo Company’s bomb disposal unit; with
US Army Staff Sergeant Will James, Sergeant Sanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge.
The Thirty nine days of this company’s attempts with success and failure of disposing
bombs around Baghdad is “The Hurt Locker”.
Jeremy Renner as SSgt. Will James is a cool, pretty experienced Bomb diffuser, who
has differences with his own team Sgt. Sanborn, for his attitude makes Sanborn bothered.
Jeremy Renner, with all his abilities makes the character, wonderful to watch. The
movie doesn’t over-dramatize the war, as Ridley Scott’s ‘Black hawk down’ does.
We know its war, and we see the chaos in front of our eyes, how everyday of life
is blemished, so wretchedly.
The cinematography by Barry Ackroyd makes the movie riveting. Kathryn Bigelow’ achievement
is not just in the perfect dramatization of the war, but in the few moments of the
film like, when the boy who sells DVD to the soldiers, gets ripped for the body
bomb or when the bombs are tied around a family man in the center of the market
and Sgt.James says after his attempts to save him, says “Sorry”.
The film is very true to its subject and characterization and achieves at every
level of directional perfection. “The Hurt Locker” might have to be watched out
for this year’s Academy Awards, for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Editing and
Best Cinematography. But even if it doesn’t make it there, it has already made into
the list of Best War movies.