The Hurt Locker

SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

This 2008 film not only won the Oscar for Best Picture, its director, Kathryn Bigelow, is the only woman to have been awarded the Best Director Oscar. The film opens with a note from Chris Hedges that reads, “The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug.” It is the mixture of adrenaline with, in this case, testosterone, that demands a life with a high dose of dangerous action. The setting is Baghdad, 2004, and there is a loud confluence of Arabic speech, the voices of American soldiers, and the sounds of military vehicles which makes the whole scene feel chaotic. The equipment may be high tech, as is shone by the land robot with its camera, but people are still the ones that die. The low angle shots from the bot remind us of the mechanistic impersonality of war, and the jerky camera images elsewhere give the movie a raw, documentary style. Cameras were placed everywhere to make the audience members feel that they are part of the action.

Thompson (Guy Pearce) heads up this particular bomb squad. He constantly surveys the area, looking for hostiles, as the men use humor to deal with the tension. As occurred in Vietnam, it is difficult to separate the enemy from those friendly to the troops. Anyone can use a remote control to set off an IED (improvised explosive device, the name itself suggesting a spontaneous danger), such is the peril and unpredictability that exists in modern warfare. The bot finds a bomb under some covers, which stresses the lethal potential hiding under a nonthreatening surface. But, the bot has a wagon attached that becomes disabled. Despite the advanced mechanism, things still go wrong. Thompson exhibits bravado to cope with the dangerous job as he says that they need to show the locals that if they leave a bomb in the road, the American soldiers will blow up their road. Destruction just leads to more devastation. The other men help him put on the preventative gear, including a helmet, and Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) says, “Happy Trails,” to him. It is the title of a cowboy song, equating these soldiers with the Americans who won the Wild West. They are being humorous, but it resonates with the idea of the rugged individualism that tamed the frontier. However, the reference also hints at the idea of Manifest Destiny that justifies incursions in the lands belonging to others. 

Thompson is literally in the hot seat as he walks toward the bomb in the sweltering desert city wearing the weighty suit. He looks like an alien invader, which in a way he is. A civilian man approaches Sanborn asking him if he is from California. Is he a distraction that is part of an attack? Or, is he just a curious bystander? It is impossible to tell, which makes the situation unclear. Sanborn says Thompson has entered “the kill zone,” which turns out to be a foreshadowing. Thompson plants explosives for detonation and starts to walk away from the bombs. Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) jokes with Sanborn about Iraq needing grass, and they can plant it and sell it, making a fortune. But humor and death stand side-by-side here, and as they kid around, Eldridge sees a man with a cell phone, which can set off the IED. He runs toward the man, telling him to put down the phone. But the man moves so Eldridge can’t get a clear shot at him. He sets off the bomb with the cell phone. The shot is at first in slow motion as we can see how strong the blast is as it heaves up the ground and rips an abandoned car. The bomb suit actually is no protection against the force of the blast, and Thompson is killed. (The title of the film refers to explosions sending victims into a place of suffering).

A grim Sanborn places Thompson’s possessions in a box next to many others that house the effects of the multiple casualties of war. Sanborn next visits Sergeant Will James (Jeremy Renner, who received an Oscar nomination for this performance). (Could the soldier’s name imply that he is willful?) James is playing hard rock music loudly. Is it to drown out the demons in his head? Or, is he so used to that adrenaline rush that he can’t tolerate existing in a restful interval while not on a mission? He later puts the music on again and calls his new dwelling, “home sweet home,” which can be a sarcastic remark, and the music is all he has to make the place feel like his own. Sanborn welcomes him, and tells him they changed the name of the location from Camp Liberty to Camp Victory, which he says sounds better. It appears that fighting for freedom is not a sufficient cause, and only winning is what’s important, as emancipation has become a secondary goal. James wants the plywood covering the window taken off so he can enjoy the sunlight. Sanborn says it helps protect against mortar shells. James rightly says it won’t help if the shell comes through the roof. He seems to cut through the illusion that there can be any safety here, and he would rather enjoy the surroundings as best he can while he can. 

Eldrigde (who director Bigelow says is a younger man looking for role models in James and Sanborn) picks up on the idea that all the supposed protection is just for show. He says there are many tanks at their location, but they can’t protect them from some unexpected enemy driving by. He sums it up by saying, “Pretty much the bottom line is, if you’re in Iraq, you’re dead.” Sanborn seems to be more of a by-the-book guy, and argues he would rather have the tanks there than not. A note appears that says there are thirty-eight days left in the rotation in Bravo Company for the three bomb techs before they can go home. It seems like the countdown on a fuse to see if they will make it to the end. 

As they try to navigate through the city, the obstacles in the streets reflect how difficult their service is here. There is a shot of a limping cat crossing a street, which could reflect on how badly the fighting is going. The inability to assess the danger of a situation continues as the three men arrive at a spot that was called in as a possible threat. They do not see any soldiers, so there is a possibility that the call was a trap. They do discover an unoccupied Humvee, and then see the soldiers who left it to take cover after calling in the sighting by an informant of a possible IED. James likes to go rogue on these missions, taking chances to increase the adrenaline high. He is ready to check out the explosive without sending in the bot first, which is what Sanborn says is the procedure they should follow. James gets into the bomb suit and laughs as he says, “Let’s rock and roll,” which fits with his preference for rowdy music. But, the careful Sanborn tells Eldridge that James is “reckless.” 

James sets off a smoke bomb. Sanborn is confused by the action, and wants James to communicate in increments where he is in relation to the IED site. James finally says he is just creating a diversion (sort of his version of camouflaging danger), doesn’t know how far down the road he is, and doesn’t seem to care that his fellow bomb specialists can’t see him. The camera shifts inside the suit, as we see things from James’s perspective, and hear only his breathing, sort of like Bowman in 2001: A Space Odyssey, where the character is also in danger. A taxi speeds into the area and stops next to James, who escalates his violent threats by degrees to get the driver to back up. He first shoots next to the car, then shatters the windshield, and then places his gun to the man’s head. After the driver does put his car in reverse, the soldiers pull the man out of the vehicle and roughly slam him to the ground. James laughs as he says if the man wasn’t an “insurgent,” before, he was now. The harsh treatment may be justified given the situation, but being in this war zone creates actions that can turn a person into the enemy.

James finds a large bomb, hidden by innocent looking refuse. He defuses it, but finds it is linked to four other explosives, showing the potential for extreme destruction in this “appearances can be deceiving” conflict. There are suspenseful cuts to a local man running down steps probably trying to set off the devices before James can disconnect them. He comes face-to-face with James who shows him he has finished, and the man runs off. Sanborn makes it known that he is not happy about James being cavalier by not following protocol.

Back at the base, Eldridge, instead of trying to escape the atmosphere of violence, plays a video game that features combat, which may show he is being influenced by James. He asks Doc Cambridge (Christian Camargo) about the line, “Be all you can be,” that the military uses to recruit soldiers. He says, correctly, that it’s illogical, because what you can be in a war, mostly, is dead. Doc says Eldridge has to stop thinking negatively, and asks what he is thinking right then. Eldridge picks up his unloaded rifle and alternately pulls the trigger showing how in a split-second, war can obliterate life.

James meets up with a young local boy who calls himself Beckham (yes, after the famous soccer star) who is trying to earn a little money selling DVDs to servicemen. He buys one off of the kid and jokes with him as he offers a cigarette and then takes it back, telling him he shouldn’t smoke. It is a friendly, almost paternal, exchange, which shows James has many sides to his personality. Later he encounters the boy again who is kicking a soccer ball. The boy is funny, using American slang, showing the Western influence spreading here, for better or worse, and jokes about getting James all kinds of weird pornography. He tells the youth if he can stop James from kicking the ball past him he will give him money. The boy blocks the kick, and James pays him and orders another DVD, hugging the youth, and saying he’s “a good kid.” But the next scene with Sanborn shows how he wants to pigeonhole James into a demographic profile. He tells James that how he acted at the bomb site wasn’t “cool.” James counters by saying that Sanborn will “get it,” as they proceed, implying his fellow soldier will key into why James operates the way he does. Sanborn says he was in military intelligence for seven years, “So, I’m pretty sure I can figure out a redneck piece of trailer trash like you.” James surprises by not becoming angry and confrontational, and instead humorously says to Sanborn he is “on the right track,” 

The next day the bomb squad goes to a building being evacuated. An Iraqi soldier tells James there is a car that has been parked illegally close by and it sags, implying there is explosive material inside. James continues his joking by asking the soldier to check it out, and the man responds alarmingly. James says he is kidding, but the action also shows that maybe there would not be a need for bombs if the Americans were not there. Now that the Americans are there, the local military can’t handle the situation, being so dependent on the American presence. As James goes to check out the car, a local insurgent fires a shot at the vehicle, igniting it into flames. Gunfire is exchanged, and the shooter is wounded. The commander in charge, Reed (David Morse), states, over the assessment that the man has a “survivable” wound, that the shooter isn’t going to “make it.” He has decided that the enemy should die for his action, taking on the role of judge and executioner even though his soldierly duty has already been fulfilled. 

James, cool on the surface, doesn’t leave the area, but instead puts out the fire and discovers in the trunk several of the bomb canisters that are similar to the ones he defused earlier. He then takes off his bomb gear which confounds Sanborn and Eldridge. James won’t hide behind the false optimistic facade of protocol, and has assessed the danger head on. He says, “There’s enough bang in there to send us all to Jesus. If I’m going to die, I’m going to die comfortable.” While James looks for the trigger, Eldridge sees a guy on a balcony using a video camera. He may only be ready to put them on “YouTube,” as Eldridge amusingly notes, but he could be a threat. Even Sanborn does not know how to advise him, where shooting footage can also be interpreted as the possibility of shooting with a weapon, so inscrutable is the danger here. The military has completely removed all the people who could be hurt, so there is no need for James to remain. James may be cool with others, but he is maniacal alone, cursing his frustration while trying to find a way to render the bomb inactive. He does not want to hear Sanborn telling him that there is no need to remain and it is dangerous for him to stay. James, showing his independence, which is not what the military is based upon, throws his headset off so he won’t hear Sanborn. He gives Eldridge the finger when asked to replace it. Comically, even in such a tense situation, Eldridge tells Sanborn that James’s response was “a negative,” and says it looks like James “is checking the oil.” James succeeds in finding the trigger. Back at the Humvee, Sanborn shows his anger at James’s defiance and what he sees as foolhardy behavior by punching James in the face, warning him never to turn off his headset. 

Reed comes over, grinning, and seems to like that James is a “wild man,” impressed by his lack of concern for safety. The film may be suggesting that if James was unsuccessful, Reed’s attitude might be different, because everybody likes a winner and hates a loser. Reed asks him how many bombs he had disarmed. James says he’s not sure. That is not what Reed wants to hear. He’s looking to use the man’s bravery as a soundbite that he can employ to rally the troops, and it doesn’t need to be based on fact. Reed says he asked James a question. James catches on quickly, and makes up a number, saying, “eight hundred and seventy-three, sir.” When Reed asks the best way to deal with the bombs, James says, “The way you don’t die, sir.” James knows not to give a technical answer, and instead delivers the bravado Reed wants, which pleases the commanding officer, who finds the response worthy of a “wild man.” 

Doc checks in with the anguished Eldridge, who is sarcastic, saying things are good and his leader, James, is “inspiring.” Doc knows he isn’t being truthful, and Eldridge says that James will get him killed, but, “At least I’ll die in the line of duty, proud and strong.” Eldridge is mocking the patriotic fervor that is meant to propel soldiers into battle. Doc tries to sell the positive side of serving, saying it can be a unique experience, and possibly “fun,” which is difficult for Eldridge to swallow. He says to Doc with additional sarcasm that Doc probably arrived at his conclusion due to his “extensive work in the field.” Eldridge does drop the attitude and says he appreciates what Doc is trying to do, but he has to be in the combat zone to appreciate what Eldridge is going through. Doc says he will try to do that. It turns out that the suggestion literally backfires.

It is now twenty-three days left in the rotation. The three men are detonating found IEDs when James tells them to stop temporarily because he has to retrieve gloves he left near the bombs. He drives off, and Sanborn picks up the detonator in his hand and darkly talks about how these devices malfunction and go off all the time. He says that Eldridge might get James’s helmet out of it, although there might be part of his hair attached to it. Eldridge asks if Sanborn is joking, but Sanborn is not smiling. He doesn’t set off the charge, but he may have been serious in wanting to take out one of his own soldiers because he considers him to be a danger to others. The movie brings up the question as to who is more of a threat, the enemy or ourselves? 

The dilemma of determining who is the enemy is stressed as the men approach others next to a SUV. These men are wrapped in local headgear and carry weapons. Sanborn yells at them to drop their guns. It turns out that they are British contracted fighters and their Team Leader (Ralph Fiennes) says they are on the same side. As the bomb squad tries to help them change a flat tire, the real enemy emerges in the form of sniper fire (by definition, a hidden attack), with one of the Brits getting shot. The Team Leader shoots escaping insurgents the British team had captured because they get the bounty for them whether or not they are alive. So, a mercenary element has replaced the supposed aim of beating a brutal adversary. They just start firing in the general direction from where the incoming came, and someone asks who they are shooting. It is a question that highlights the film’s theme that there is no clear purpose or rationale to the conflict. One man who is behind the artillery gun firing wildly is just wasting ammunition. When he is told to stop, he is immediately hit by a shot. It is reminiscent of the scene in Full Metal Jacket, where all the fire power and technology of one side can be brought down by a dedicated sniper. 

The men take cover behind an embankment and see a small building where the enemy must be. The Team Leader shoots at the building, but his action allows the insurgents to locate his position. They fire on him, killing the man. Sanborn runs out of ammunition as he adjusts his aim, and Eldridge must get the ammo from the dead Team Leader. Again, despite the supposed advanced war machine of the United States, a soldier must cannibalize the supplies of a dead ally to continue the effort. Then the new clip jams because of the blood of the dead soldier on it. They must spit on the ammo and rub it off. It is like a desecration of the dead person’s life. But, it also shows irony that the blood of someone fighting with them works against their efforts, suggesting that when blood is spilled, the situation is dire for all concerned.

Sanborn is able to shoot three of the enemy combatants taking cover in the small building. But it is not just the men on the other side of the battle that the soldiers must deal with. A fly almost crawls into the eye of Sanborn as he is ready to shoot and one slips into James’s mouth. It almost symbolizes how this place of death is infecting those fighting in it. The heat and wind make them thirsty, as James starts to cough. He and Sanborn must share a juice packet, since it is in short supply. They must wait out the enemy as the sand of the desert coats them, almost dehumanizing their features and making them appear as statues as they sit still in their positions. An enemy fighter approaches from their rear. Eldridge spots him and shoots, killing him. He looks at his own weapon, which recalls what he said to Doc about how precarious life is in war, as one moment turns life into death. As sunset approaches, James calls an end to the siege.

Back at camp, the three men unwind by being rowdy and drinking together as they listen to loud rock music. Sanborn finds some stuff stowed under James’s bunk. It reveals that he is married, but James seems unsure of his marriage status. He feels divorced from his wife, and probably from others, but she still lives in their house with their child. James also has collected components of the bombs he has disarmed, because he finds it interesting that they could have killed him. It is a morbid fascination. Also, he probably feels the adrenaline rush from revisiting the scenes in his mind where he came close to death. In a non-psychotic way, it’s similar to a serial killer collecting trophies. 

The men trade punches to show their macho quotient, but James pushes it too far, pinning Sanborn to the ground and acting like he is riding him like a bronco. Sanborn pulls out a knife and puts it to James’s throat. James just smiles, says he was kidding, and tells Sanborn he is okay, since the man passed James’s “wild man” test. There is a thin line here between camaraderie and animosity. As James puts the drunk and battered Sanborn to bed, the man asks James if he thinks he has what it takes to wear the bomb suit. James smiles and says, “Hell no.” His remark is not necessarily a criticism. He may be saying that Sanborn is not insane and reckless enough to do what James is doing. James in his cot puts on the helmet, showing he can’t seem to escape his addiction to facing death.

Doc, taking Eldridge’s suggestion, joins him and the others on a maneuver. They are supposed to acquire some unexploded devices in a building. The place has not been cleared, so they must be careful. They find a lot of explosives that appear to be their own weapons, which shows how the enemy turns their armaments around, and ironically uses them to kill Americans. It’s like a ricochet. It might also remind us of The Deer Hunter, where violence meant to be directed outward turns into an instrument of suicide. There is the bloody body of a boy, who James thinks may be Beckham, on a table. He represents the collateral damage that occurs when war is unleashed. But, his body has been booby-trapped. In the senselessness of war, even the dead are turned into weapons. Even though James overtly acts cool, he is privately affected by the death of the boy and the fact that he now has to blow the corpse up. He cancels the detonation so he can find the bomb, which he discovers is sewn into the boy’s chest, symbolizing how invasive violence can be for those caught up in a war. He cuts it out so he can show respect for this loss of life by preserving the youth’s body for burial. 

As James carries the dead boy, Doc is talking to locals about moving their cart to a safe place away from the area. However, as they leave they drop what appears (that false facade again) a parcel that turns out to be an IED. It explodes and kills Doc. Eldridge is devastated since he was the one who urged the man to go out into the field to see what it was really like for the foot soldiers. Back at the camp, James calls home. After hearing his wife answer and his baby’s voice in the background, he can’t talk and hangs up. It’s as if he was reaching out for help to deal with the horror of the situation. But, he can’t connect with his other life after his time in the war zone. For him, (with my apologies to The Wizard of Oz) there’s no place that’s home. 

James sees a local man and asks about Beckham, but the man has taken the boy’s place, selling DVDs. James wants the man removed, saying he might be a security risk. But the real reason that he is angry may be that he doesn’t want to accept that Beckham is dead, and the man’s presence makes the death real for James. He suspects that the man may be involved with Beckham’s death so he could replace him and get close to the Americans to spy on them. He uses a gun to force the man to drive to his destination so James may find out if there is any conspiracy behind the boy’s disappearance. They arrive at a house which James assumes was Beckham’s home. He enters the house with his gun asking about Beckham. The man there is Professor Nabil (Nabil Koni) who says it is his house and says James is his guest and wants him to sit. A woman enters, scared at the stranger with a gun, and angry for the intrusion. She yells and smacks James with a serving tray. He flees. Is James just mistaken or are these people really the enemy? Even though James wants things to be clearer, the confusion of who is a friend or a foe here adds to the theme of uncertainty as to any logical clarity in this war.

It is nighttime as James heads back to his camp, and even though nobody threatens him, he is an outsider who is running as if trying to evade a hostile army. To add to the confusion, because he is not inside the base after hours, he is considered a possible enemy by fellow American soldiers even though he continues to state that he is “friendly.” The films stresses here how easily roles can be reversed in the paranoia induced by the fog of war. He comically gets in by telling the guard he was at a whorehouse and will share its location with the soldier. Apparently that information is more conclusive of friendliness than an official ID in this crazy place.

James, Sanborn and Eldridge investigate an explosion. It is still night, when it is difficult to see what is really happening, which is consistent with the film’s theme of the inexact nature of things. The flames and smoke along with the darkness make the whole scene look like a surreal vision of hell. Instead of concluding that there was a suicide bomber involved, James believes it may have been a remote detonation. He says a successful bad guy hides “in the dark,” which also adds to the hidden nature of threats in modern terrorist warfare. James wants to go hunting. Eldridge is willing because he is angry and guilty about Doc, so rules don’t matter to him, even as Sanborn reminds them that it is not their job to engage the enemy.  

They find tanker trucks which are similar to the one that was used to cause the explosion. They attack the nearby buildings from different positions and are in turn fired upon. It appears this time, James is correct about where the enemy is. Sanborn and James join up to pursue insurgents dragging the captured Eldridge. They fire on the insurgents, but accidentally wound Eldridge in the leg. Back at the camp, James goes into the shower stall with his gear on, and he cries and bangs around, as if trying to cleanse himself of the desert, the war, and his guilt. James encounters Beckham, who is still alive, adding to the confusion of the world there. James just walks away from the boy, wanting to distance himself from the emotions that caused him to commit reckless acts. James and Sanborn go to see Eldridge in a helicopter which is evacuating him for treatment. Eldridge is enraged since his femur is smashed because, as he says, James needed his “adrenaline fix.” The irony here is that while going after the enemy, James’s recklessness harmed one of his own men by way of “friendly fire,” the phrase summing up the contradictory outcomes due to those consumed by war. Eldridge’s injury also fits in with the theme of violence causing a boomerang effect on the initiator of dangerous actions.

There are now only two days left in the rotation. A man approaches a group of American soldiers wearing a bomb vest that he says was forced onto him. He says there may be a timer which adds to the suspense of the moment. Is he an innocent man or just looks like one? Should they shoot him at a distance or try to disarm the explosive? We again have the combat version of the uncertainty principle. From a logical point of view, James can play it safe in his short-timer situation. But he would like to save the man if he can if he happens to be a victim. In addition, he craves the excitement of the moment that overrides all common sense. So, he wants to try to disarm the device without killing the man if possible. But there are only two minutes on the fuse left and the vest is affixed to a steel harness secured with padlocks. Sanborn wants them to just evacuate the area and sacrifice the man. He says it’s “suicide” to try and disarm the bomb. James says that’s why they call them suicide bombs. In a way he is saying it takes a suicidal action to stop another suicidal event of greater catastrophe to take place. James waits until the last possible moment before telling the man he can’t save him. He gets hit with the blast, but the bomb suit saves him at the distance he reached. 

While driving away from the scene, Sanborn says that he hates “this place,” and says just a little different outcome can cause a piece of shrapnel to cut his throat. It’s similar to Eldridge thinking about how just one moment in a war can determine life and death. He doesn’t want to die, but beyond that he wonders who would even miss him besides his parents. He wants a son in his life, and asks James how he can go out there gambling his life since he is a family. James says he doesn’t think about it, and says he doesn’t know why. He asks Sanborn if he has a clue as to why James acts the way he does. Sanborn doesn’t know either. The movie seems to be asking how much do we really understand what makes some people behave one way and others react totally differently to the same situation?

James is now back home. He is in a supermarket listening to bland elevator music. His wife says to get some cereal. The aisle has tons of different boxes to choose from. In the military, there is a clear course of action, and orders to follow because so much is on the line. Here, what action to take is burdensome given the superficiality of the choices. These chores in contrast to military duties seem bland and purposeless, such as cleaning out the house rain gutters and washing mushrooms for a meal. To stress this contrast, James relates a news story of how a suicide bomber infiltrated a group of children, passing out free candy before detonating. He probably feels his civilian life is meaningless compared to his military job of trying to save others. He tells his wife that the military needs more bomb techs, but his wife ignores his comment, not wanting to deal with what she knows is the inevitability of him leaving again.

James plays with his baby, and he talks about how the child is happy with all the things he has. He says that some of the things the child loves now “might not seem so special anymore … As you get older, there are fewer things you really love.” He admits to himself that for him there may be only “one” thing he now loves. For him, the need to try and save others, but also to only feel alive when he faces death, is what he lives for. It is a solitary life emotionally that he has chosen. The next shot is James landing back in Iraq. There is an almost seamless transition to him back in the bomb suit, cut off from others by the gear, walking alone in an actual and psychological desert, toward an uncertain fate. The counter is reset, and there are 365 days left in his rotation. But the number no longer is significant, since a person such as James will keep doing the job as long as he can. 

The next film is Champion.