Jarhead (2005)

Based on former Marine Anthony Swofford's best-selling 2003 book about his pre-Desert Storm experiences in Saudi Arabia and about his experiences fighting in Kuwait.

Director:

Sam Mendes

Writers:

William Broyles Jr. (screenplay), Anthony Swofford (book)

Stars:

Jake Gyllenhaal, Scott MacDonald, Jamie Foxx

5 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jake Gyllenhaal	...	Anthony Swofford
Scott MacDonald	...	D.I. Fitch
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Alan Troy
Jamie Foxx	...	Staff Sgt. Sykes
Ming Lo	...	Bored Gunny
Lucas Black	...	Chris Kruger
Kevin Foster	...	Branded Marine
Brian Geraghty	...	Fergus O'Donnell
Damion Poitier	...	Poitier
Riad Galayini	...	Nurse
Craig Coyne	...	Young Mr. Swofford
Katherine Randolph	...	Young Mrs. Swofford
Honorine Bell	...	Swoff's Sister (as Rini Bell)
Dendrie Taylor	...	Mrs. Swofford
James Morrison	...	Mr. Swofford

Storyline

Anthony "Swoff" Swofford, a Camus-reading kid from Sacramento, enlists in the Marines in the late 1980s. He malingers during boot camp, but makes it through as a sniper, paired with the usually-reliable Troy. The Gulf War breaks out, and his unit goes to Saudi Arabia for Desert Shield. After 175 days of boredom, adrenaline, heat, worry about his girlfriend finding someone else, losing it and nearly killing a mate, demotion, latrine cleaning, faulty gas masks, and desert football, Desert Storm begins. In less than five days, it's over, but not before Swoff sees burned bodies, flaming oil derricks, an oil-drenched horse, and maybe a chance at killing. Where does all the testosterone go?

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Plot Keywords:

desert | sniper | saudi arabia | boot camp | boredom | 

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Taglines:

Every man fights his own war.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, some violent images and strong sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

UIP [fr] UIP [jp]

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English Spanish Arabic Latin

Release Date:

4 November 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Soldado anónimo

Filming Locations:

Brawley, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,106,718 (Australia) (10 February 2006)

Gross:

$2,340,121 (Australia) (24 February 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Red Wagon Entertainment, Neal Street Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jake Gyllenhaal and Chris Cooper first worked together on October Sky, although they only share one scene in this film.

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Goofs

While Swoff is being punished for abandoning his watch for the party, the water bottle on the table shifts position between shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Anthony 'Swoff' Swofford: A story: A man fires a rifle for many years, and he goes to war. And afterward he turns the rifle in at the armory, and he believes he's finished with the rifle. But no matter what else he might do with his hands, love a woman, build a house, change his son's diaper; his hands remember the rifle.

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Crazy Credits

The title of the movie is the only opening credit at the beginning of the movie.

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Connections

References Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

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Soundtracks

"Fight the Power"
Written by Chuck D. (as Carlton Ridenhour), Hank Shocklee, Keith Shocklee (as Keith M. Boxley),
Eric Sadler
Performed by Public Enemy
Courtesy of Bring the Noize, Inc.
By Arrangement with Reach Global, Inc.

User Reviews

Pleasantly surprising

I saw a promotional screening of the film, sponsored by my university. Following the screening was an audience Q&A with the author (and main character), Tony Swofford.

And it was no surprise that the very first question from the audience was, quite ambiguously, "Do you support the military?" When Swofford dismissed the question as too broad and complex to be answered with a simple yes or no, the inquirer followed up with, "Well, do you support the war?" Swofford dismissed this even more readily.

To me, this was perfectly representative of how the film handled its potential political implications.

As Troy says early on in the film, "To hell with politics. We're here now." And that's essentially how the movie went.

It bypasses the soapbox and simply tells you how it was, from the perspective of a single soldier. And while the opening boot camp scenes may seem like Full Metal Jacket Lite, the rest of the film is truly unique.

Sam Mendes directs with his usual brilliance, showing once again his affinity for bright, vivid color, even in the largely monochromatic desert.

Jake Gyllenhaal gives an excellent performance as Anthony Swofford, complemented by the able talents of Jamie Foxx and Peter Sarsgaard.

The film's only real flaw is that, like the war on which it was based, it's pretty slow, and not a lot really happens.

In the strictest sense, I would have a hard time even classifying this as a war film, and it's certainly not a deliberately political film.

But in its own way, it tells an intense, personal story. Beyond that, you're simply left to make your own judgments.

7/10