December 2, 2023 | Rome, Italy

Jarhead

By |2018-03-21T18:30:15+01:00April 1st, 2005|Reviews|

2

Date: 2005

Director: Sam Mendes

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard

N

o arguing that director Sam Medes (“American Beauty”) is sincere. To what end is unclear. Jake Gyllenhaal is Anthony Swofford, a real-life Marine who wants action but never sees it. This becomes a movie about the perils of tedium — in the vein of Dino Buzzati’s novel “Desert of the Tartars,” in which the soldier Drogo gradually goes mad awaiting heathens who don’t won’t or can’t appear. Here, it’s Marines (pre-Gulf War) who lose it. Or lose their way. It’s “pretty” to look at — sweeping deserts are, that is — but finally a dismaying exercise in repetition. The Boot Camp section is edgy and promising but falls short of Kubrick’s take in “Full Metal Jacket.” From Swofford’s book of the same name.

About the Author:

Hong Kong based David Trask is a longtime freelance movie reviewer.