Jarhead: More Than Just a War Movie

Jarhead, a brilliant, stirring and evocative film about Scout Sniper Anthony Swafford in Desert Storm, fulfills ones every expectation and more. A more anticipated movie hasn’t come out since Star Wars Episode III. Swafford (played by Jake Gyllenhall) is a young man from a broken home, filled with dreams of glory when he enlists. After his brief and sobering stint at boot camp, he becomes a Marine Scout Sniper and is shipped off to Iraq in Operation Desert Shield. Staff Sergeant Sykes (Jamie Foxx) is Swafford’s commander in the blistering Iraqi heat where they patrol empty dunes, target practice, hydrate, and wait. The film is no more an action movie than Saving Private Ryan is a comedy. Jarhead is an introspective and psychological masterpiece about the crippling boredom and insanity that comes with waiting for a turn at action and being denied time after time. The film has breath-taking cinematography, most notably, the scenes in the burning oil fields. Along with excellent and convincing acting there is a unique plot that separates it from other action flicks. It gives a realistic view of a war that many people in the general population know very little about. One of the most notable themes in the movie is the unavoidable truth that every war has a deep psychological impact on those involved regardless of its size. The United States may have steamrolled the Iraqi troops in Desert Storm, but the impact of war left those who were immersed in it with their fair share of problems. Go see this movie. If for no other reason than Jamie Foxx’s terrific performance. Jarhead is fun, interesting, badass, depressing and most of all, thought provoking. A quote from Staff Sergeant Sykes sums up the projected mentality of the war and that of the men fighting in it:”I love this job. I thank God for every day he gives me in the Corps. Oorah.”