DVD review: The Hurt Locker (15) by Mail Film Editor Graham Young
Dec 24 2009 by Graham Young, Birmingham Mail
THE HURT LOCKER (15)
Verdict: HHHHH
THE steady procession of service fatalities, and of seriously injured soldiers being flown to Selly Oak Hospital from Afghanistan, gives this exceptional drama a really human edge.
Many British casualties have been victims of ‘improvised roadside bombs’ and it’s focussing on this kind of issue in Iraq which makes The Hurt Locker searingly topical. Hollywood has had a real problem trying to make the Middle East crisis relevant. Director Kathryn Bigelow succeeds here by taking a macro view of a street-specific crisis and generally avoiding the comparatively tedious nature of the international politics involved with war on this scale. The idea of watching people risking being blown to pieces might not have created a box office blockbuster, but this is certainly Bigelow’s best film since Point Break in 1991.
It also has the most edge-of-your-seat opening to a war movie since Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan (1998) a decade ago. Ms Bigelow says: “When I learned that these men volunteer for this dangerous work and grow so fond of it that they can imagine doing nothing else, I knew I had found my next film,” she says.Briefly married to James Cameron during his pre-T2 years, Bigelow knows how to handle action herself – as Blue Steel (1989) and the underrated K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) also illustrated. Shot in Amman in Jordan, The Hurt Locker certainly makes you feel like you are in Iraq, both in terms of landscapes and the hopelessness of a situation which validates cameo performances by Ralph Fiennes and Guy Pearce.
Recent arrival Sgt James (Jeremy Renner, North Country / 28 Weeks Later) takes the sense of danger to new levels as he dons a suit ready to try to dismantle bombs. Even experienced colleagues like Sanborn (Anthony Mackie, Million Dollar Baby) and Eldridge (Brian Geraghty, The Guardian) can’t believe what at times appears to be Sgt James’ level of death-defying bravery mixed with foolishness. The script was written by New York journalist Mark Boal, who went on assignment with an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team in 2004.
Also available to buy for £19.99 (Blu-ray £24.99).
GRAHAM YOUNG
