The well-known phrase War is hell (allegedly first uttered by Civil War icon, General William T. Sherman) has undoubtedly become a tired cliché. And many a war film has been made to depict these vivid horrors for decades now. So, what has been left to be shown that we cinephiles havent already seen in countless screen adaptations of the life of a soldier? In all honesty,...not much that hasnt already been done in such modern classics as APOCALYPSE NOW (1979), PLATOON (1986), SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998), and BLACK HAWK DOWN (2001). And yet, though not as powerful or memorable as any of the aforementioned wartime films, the new release, FURY, does bring something new to the table that its predecessors didnt quite capture, and that is the unyielding sense of claustrophobia that would be inherent in the lives of five American soldiers being crammed into a rickety tin can of a tank, deep into Nazis Germany during the last desperate months of the war. This fictional depiction (written by writer/director, David Ayer) of a war-weary army sergeant named Wardaddy (Brad Pitt) commanding a Sherman tank (nicknamed Fury) and its crew on a deadly mission, facing overwhelming odds in their efforts to deliver a crippling blow to the enemy does for the cramped space of living in a beat up tank what DAS BOOT (1981) did for being stuck in a WWII German U-boat. And somehow, Ayers and co-producer Pitt were able to get permission to use the very last working Tiger 1 tank in the world to shoot the film! This relic, (labeled Fury for the film) is a horrifying contraption all its own, and makes the viewer quickly respect with complete awe the courage and bravery of all of the soldiers from that era that were assigned to serve in these hotbox death machines. Talk about driving around with a bullseye on you! Seeing these tanks be the primary target of an ungodly and endless barrage of firepower makes the contraptions seem like the last possible assignment of any soldier would ever wish for. At least when being a lowly foot soldier you are no more than a pawn on the chessboard of battle. However, being trapped in a tank makes you a far more valuable piece to take ot of the game, like a rook. This is one gritty, brutal, violent, muddy, and bloody war film. In other words, although only the few still living soldiers that served in these metal death traps could attest to the authenticity of the depiction, I have a feeling that Ayers has gotten the muck of war about as close as one could expect to get. FURY is a tremendously (and certainly, intentionally) ugly movie, on many levels. Having said that, this is no reflection on the quality of the filmmaking and acting in the film. The standout technical elements of the film are the cinematography (in particular the lighting and camera placement choices) and the haunting music score by Steven Price, who won the Oscar last year for his work on GRAVITY (2013). Price creatively intermingles other-worldly musical motifs with percussively mechanized explosions of musical gunfire, occasionally layered with German-esque marching cadences and soldiers chants, both rhythmic and soulful. Prices score (as in GRAVITY) becomes a character all its own throughout the film and as a result, he may find himself on the short list for yet another nomination for his work here for this impressive original music score. Pitt successfully plays Warddaddy as the father-figure of the squad, especially to replacement newbie, Norman (Logan Lehrman), a very young recruit previously assigned as a typist, and never having even taken a shot at the enemy that wasnt fired in ink, instead of lead. Pitt balances his need to control the tempers, hormones, and personality disorders of his diverse crew with private moments unseen by the others where the pain of his prolonged duty in the military is chiseled deeply onto his beaten face and soul-crushed eyes. Pitts mastery of the quiet moments as Wardaddy are warmly moving, even heart-breaking at times, and then when he takes command, he displays a visceral energy that is as enraged and crazed from the psychological damage of war as can be. I found Pitts performance as Wardaddy to be utterly convincing in every scene, whereas Lermans journey as the young Norman is more predictable and formulaic. Lerman plays the wide-eyed naiveté a bit too broadly early on, but his transition to fully realized soldier at arms improves as the film progresses. Co-stars Jon Bernthal (who I dont recall noticing in any previous film before) and Michael Penã are both excellent as the token red-neck and minority representative of the team. However the real surprise performance in the cast comes from bad boy, and recent Hollywood outcast, Shia LeBeouf as Boyd Bible Swan, the God-loving, scripture-quoting, born-again Christian of the team. With this one film, LeBeouf may have successfully erased his slate clean from the bat sh*t crazy antics that have put him on the front pages of the tabloids for the past couple of years. His portrayal as Bible is complex, touching, hypocritical, and surprising throughout the entire film. What first seems like a wholly unlikable character, LeBeouf truly makes you root for Bible as the film moves towards its climax. I wont go so far as to say that there is an Oscar nomination for his role in the works here, but clearly, LeBeouf is back, and I, for one, am happy that he may now be ready for his big boy pants, and has proven to grow into an actor I look forward to seeing bigger and better things to come from in the near future. I dont see FURY as having wide box office appeal due to it likely being too specifically geared towards male movie goers (my apologies for any unintentional gender stereotyping, ladies), and its not a likely Oscar nominee in any categories other than for Prices music score and perhaps for sound editing and mixing. However, The Hawk will admit to being moved by the performances of the cast that displayed the courage and sacrifices made by the heroic characters in FURY, a film that in a way creates a new term, PRESENT Traumatic Stress Disorder, as opposed to the frequently dramatized post-version of the psychological malady, referred to as PTSD. Grade = A-. youtu.be/p1xli7OTE_0
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 15:42:18 +0000
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