The plot follows a team of three guys whose job is to disarm, or detonate safely the IED’s (Improvised Explosive Devices) in Bahgdad, Iraq. The three personas are vulnerably exposed through multiple scenarios in the most intense and insane job currently known to man. This may be the slowest moving action film I’ve seen, and I didn’t mind one bit. Certain scenes were so captivating that I stopped blinking to ensure I caught every subtle movement on the screen. Bigelow has a gift at knowing what heats the blood and knew exactly what to focus on to guarantee intensity. Uncharacteristic images like a fly on an eyelash, a dust storm, a stray cat crossing the road, leftover spit around a mouth, kites flying above the limestone apartments—all presented in deep quiet --hypnotize the audience with the ugly beauty of their world.
While the main character, Staff Sgt. William James (Jeremy Renner) may be a little too stereotypical cowboy, the cliched bad ass, who loves heavy metal, chews on cigarettes, and ignores all orders and advice --,is still the masterful focus of the film. James approaches his work with an irrational invincibility, adrenaline junkie attitude, consistently endangering himself and those around him. In contrast, his friendship with an Iraqi boy who sells DVDs on the compound exposes his endearing kindness. Jeremy Renner blasts into best actor status with his portrayal of this dynamic character.
Coming to the end of the film, the Delta Company IED crew survives the tour, and in one of their last days in the desert, James turns to his partner Sgt. J.T. Sanborn (Anthonie Mackie) and asks an exposed “Why am I the way that I am?” with a mutual “I don’t know” conclusion. Abruptly following, James is seen at home with his wife, and very young son, in a four-part, question-answering montage. From standing in the grocery store aisle and having to pick out a cereal from the hundreds of brands, to cleaning leaves out of a gutter, to chopping peppers with his wife who can’t relate, to a forced, and let’s be honest, a little bit silly one-way conversation with his son, James comes to an understanding that he is a ruined man. Bigelow trusts her viewers to realize the position that he is now in. His experiences have altered him, and the trivial decisions and tasks of normal life will never satisfy again. So he is left with a choice, to either deal with returning to an ordinary but safe life, or go back to dangerously doing the only thing he feels matters…
Brilliantly directed, and acted, The Hurt Locker, will be moving and inspiring audiences for the next few decades.
