Director enters a world of hurt for war epic
A soldier defuses a bomb in The Hurt Locker.
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An intense portrayal of elite soldiers who have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, The Hurt Locker explodes on screen at the Vernon Towne Cinema Monday.
Presented by the Vernon Film Society, the film shows those soldiers responsible for disarming bombs in the heat of combat.
The film follows new sergeant, James (Jeremy Renner), as he takes over a highly-trained bomb disposal team amidst violent conflict in Baghdad.
James surprises his two subordinates, Sanborn and Eldridge (Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty), by recklessly plunging them into a deadly game of urban combat. He behaves as if he’s indifferent to death.
As the men struggle to control their wild new leader, the city explodes into chaos, and James’ true character reveals itself in a way that will change each man forever.
Director Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break, K-19: The Widowmaker) chose to use hand-held camera techniques to give the action immediacy and to show the horrors of war (think Saving Private Ryan’s opening scene), while Mark Boal, a journalist and screenwriter who wrote the magazine article on which In the Valley of Elah was based, is said to have researched an army bomb squad in Iraq to get his material.
Roger Ebert with The Chicago Sun-Times said “The Hurt Locker is a great film, an intelligent film, a film shot clearly so that we know exactly who everybody is and where they are and what they’re doing and why.”
Also starring Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce, David Morse and Evangeline Lilly, the film has received early Oscar buzz, and was recently nominated for best picture, ensemble and breakthrough actor (for Renner) from the Gotham Independent Film Awards.
The Hurt Locker screens Monday at 5:15 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. Admission is $6 and tickets are available in advance at the Bean Scene or the Towne Cinema.
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