Jarhead (2005)

Release date: 2005-11-04
Country: USA|UK|Germany
Language: English|Spanish|Arabic|Latin
Director: Sam Mendes
Production Co: Universal Pictures, Red Wagon Entertainment, Neal Street Productions
Genre: Action, Biography, Drama, War
Rating: 7.0/10
Length: 2h 5min

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?

Plot Keywords

soldier, desert, boot camp, sniper rifle, u.s. marine corps, cheating wife, violence, infidelity, automatic weapon, military uniform, year 1991, year 1990, drinking, undressing, friendly fire, death, female nudity, sex talk, underwear, horniness

Short Review

Gyllenhaal can, in fact, act, so the blame must fall elsewhere for his dim performance, all topless tears and soulful voiceovers. The same goes for Peter Sarsgaard, Chris Cooper and Jamie Foxx, three good actors forced into contortions of theatrics.