The Hurt Locker

I sat through this film after hearing all the hype, rave reviews and of course noticing the success it had with academy awards....and I can safely say it was all very much deserved.

We haven't been without our fair share of war films depicting current events of the dangers and controversy of western soldiers occupying middle eastern territories. But this film plays it so close, to an almost claustrophobic level focusing on the men and women that are putting their lives on the line to bring (arguably) peace to these nations. The films plot centres around an elite Army bomb squad unit forced to play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in the chaos of war, where everyone is a potential enemy and every object could be a deadly bomb and I can assure you it is painfully tense stuff.

Throughout the film we are brought to count down the days left until the members of the bomb squad can go back home and we are pushed into their world with such visceral realism that its hard to forget that this is REAL. Its not some imagined reality in which events like this take place, its actually happening right now on our planet. Our noses are pressed quite literally up into the face of the bombs, and simply not knowing if they will explode almost feels like a real danger, to me, sat on a comfy sofa, in a flat in Singapore, totally safe. This is filmaking at its very best.

You will find no disconnected performances here, the whole cast were completely believable and lived and breathed their characters. It was almost beautiful to see. Acting is not about pretending, it is about becoming and I really felt every emotion hit me from the screen. Bomb disposal expert William James (Jeremy Renner) is unconventional to say the least, with a wonderfully wreckless (or so it seems) attitude to his job. Renner is simply perfect, he brings so much to the film, with the actor and the character making some bold choices which really come up trumps. The later scenes in the film with his family back home in the USA are so touchingly performed. Most notably the sad sight of him in a supermarket choosing the correct breakfast cereal bringing to mind the poignant comparison of him picking the correct wire to sever on an IED . The mundane following the extreme.

I am not sure whether it could be described as an ensemble piece, because for me the character of William James stood out so much, but the rest of the cast really do compliment each-other, once again with unparalleled realism.

Kathryn Bigelow the director (every time I hear her name I have flashbacks of those terrible Rob Schneider films) has directed some really interesting movies in the past and yet I never really noticed her. After "The Hurt Locker" however I will now follow her career with great anticipation as well as cinematographer Barry Ackroyd (United 93) who lent his talent and by doing so was responsible for some of the most involving moments of film I have seen in a very long time.

I implore you to go out and buy the DVD immediately. You will not be disappointed.

9.5/10 Involving, beautifully acted, claustrophobic and Explosive.

Review by Joseph Carter