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The best part was that on my way into the theater, this kid who couldn't have been older than 13 goes, "has anyone ever told you that your hair looks like... do you know who Art Garfunkel is?" Do I, indeed.
So, yeah, Jarhead. I don't know why I expected it might have had redeeming qualities. I hated both American Beauty and The Road to Perdition. Still, those two ps of s were as emeralds to this unbearably noxious non-character study. Sam Mendes is not a film director. He may be gifted in the theater, as evidenced by his obvious love of the arresting tableau. Too bad he's so busy setting those up (the burning oil field rainstorms, the gas mask jumpsuit football games, the sad soldier reading his sad letter outside while the happy soldiers read their happy letters inside--courtesy of the diopter lens, et al) that he fails to notice that the film has no drama, no conflict, no relationships, no characters, even; it's just a string of cranberries. Mendes lets pop songs and other movies do all his work for him, sometimes by association (Full Metal Jacket's drill sgt and sniper sequences, Platoon's nature encounter moment) and sometimes, as when a theater full of jarheads cheers on the Ride of the Valkyries sequence from Apocalypse Now, directly. Nirvana's "Something in the Way," is meant to describe the blank heaviness the lead character is experiencing. "Don't Worry, Be Happy" is meant to be ironic. Instead, both songs feel like commentary, or extraneous voice over--inflections. Nothing in the film resonates.
The set pieces could be impressive on a stage, which is where this movie obviously wants to live, where it's all about dealing creatively with an enclosed space. But cinema is unconstrained by space; the challenge lies in deciding where to put the brackets in a world of infinite possibility. Mendes always feints toward the proscenium. Jarhead is a play. A shitty play, but a play. It's all tableaux, man-to-man histrionics, group choreography. With no sense of realness and no admission of artifice, it just looks staged. It's not cinema. It's just outdoor theater with cameras.
News flash: Jake Gyllenhall, not a good actor. Not even an actor? Just a blank-faced eye-mover. Inexpressive to the point of absolute inexpression. Makes Peter Sarsgaard's blank John Malkovich impersonation seem almost thrilling by comparison. One of these men knows that the movie he's in is garbage.
The only real change that we can detect (other than the fact that JG's character says "All I wanted was out," after showing no sign of wanting anything ever)is that the movie opens with "Don't Worry Be Happy," and closes with the "Don't Worry Be Happy was a number one jam/ Damn, if I say it you can slap me right here" line from "Fight the Power." Get it?
Up yours, Sam Mendes.
So, yeah, Jarhead. I don't know why I expected it might have had redeeming qualities. I hated both American Beauty and The Road to Perdition. Still, those two ps of s were as emeralds to this unbearably noxious non-character study. Sam Mendes is not a film director. He may be gifted in the theater, as evidenced by his obvious love of the arresting tableau. Too bad he's so busy setting those up (the burning oil field rainstorms, the gas mask jumpsuit football games, the sad soldier reading his sad letter outside while the happy soldiers read their happy letters inside--courtesy of the diopter lens, et al) that he fails to notice that the film has no drama, no conflict, no relationships, no characters, even; it's just a string of cranberries. Mendes lets pop songs and other movies do all his work for him, sometimes by association (Full Metal Jacket's drill sgt and sniper sequences, Platoon's nature encounter moment) and sometimes, as when a theater full of jarheads cheers on the Ride of the Valkyries sequence from Apocalypse Now, directly. Nirvana's "Something in the Way," is meant to describe the blank heaviness the lead character is experiencing. "Don't Worry, Be Happy" is meant to be ironic. Instead, both songs feel like commentary, or extraneous voice over--inflections. Nothing in the film resonates.
The set pieces could be impressive on a stage, which is where this movie obviously wants to live, where it's all about dealing creatively with an enclosed space. But cinema is unconstrained by space; the challenge lies in deciding where to put the brackets in a world of infinite possibility. Mendes always feints toward the proscenium. Jarhead is a play. A shitty play, but a play. It's all tableaux, man-to-man histrionics, group choreography. With no sense of realness and no admission of artifice, it just looks staged. It's not cinema. It's just outdoor theater with cameras.
News flash: Jake Gyllenhall, not a good actor. Not even an actor? Just a blank-faced eye-mover. Inexpressive to the point of absolute inexpression. Makes Peter Sarsgaard's blank John Malkovich impersonation seem almost thrilling by comparison. One of these men knows that the movie he's in is garbage.
The only real change that we can detect (other than the fact that JG's character says "All I wanted was out," after showing no sign of wanting anything ever)is that the movie opens with "Don't Worry Be Happy," and closes with the "Don't Worry Be Happy was a number one jam/ Damn, if I say it you can slap me right here" line from "Fight the Power." Get it?
Up yours, Sam Mendes.
posted by Sean Nelson at 9:24 AM
6 Comments:
Jake Gyllenhall not a good actor? I coulda told you that after seeing Moonlight Mile. I won't say whose review got me out to that "p of s"! But we can agree on American Beauty. And you've cleared up my wishy-washiness on Jarhead. So it's coo'.
i loved moonlight mile!
Um, yes you did.
And Pootie Tang!
But I'm with you on Squid and the Whale. There the songs weren't made to pick up emotional slack. Unlike, say, Moonlight Mile...
Pootie Tang RULES! sa da tay...
I cannot pass up a chance to agree that AMERICAN BEAUTY was a giant piece of crap. Blech. I refused to watch SIX FEET UNDER for years because I felt so passionate about my dislike for AB. But SIX FEET under can be interesting but it can also be trashy and obvious too.
I haven't seen Jarhead yet, but I think I'll to see in on DVD.
I'm interested in hearing your rant about American Beauty. I rather enjoyed that movie.
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