Jarhead (film)
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Jarhead is a 2005 film starring Jake Gyllenhaal as U.S. Marine Anthony Swofford, and is based on Swofford's 2003 Gulf War memoir Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles. The title is based on a semi-derogatory slang, jarhead, used for Marines, and sometimes by Marines themselves. The film was directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes, most famous for his 1999 film American Beauty.
Plot
The film begins with voice-over narration on a black screen, as Jake Gyllenhaal, playing Anthony Swofford, waxes philosophical about a soldier whose hands forever remember the grip of a rifle, whatever else they do in life. We then find Swofford in a U.S. Marine Corps boot camp, being brutalized by a drill instructor in scene reminiscent of Full Metal Jacket. After finishing boot, "Swoff" is dispatched to Camp Pendleton, where he is subjected to a cruel joke by the senior Marines and faints. After regaining consciousness, he is greeted cooly by Troy (Peter Sarsgaard), who says to him, "Welcome to the Suck."
Swofford comes across Staff Sergeant Sykes (Jamie Foxx), a Marine "lifer" who invites Swofford to his Scout Sniper (formally the Surveillance and Target Acquisition) course. After arduous training sessions that claim the life of one recruit, he becomes a sniper and is paired with Troy as his spotter. Shortly after, Kuwait is invaded by Iraq and Swofford's unit is dispatched to the Persian Gulf as a part of Operation Desert Shield. Although the Marines are very eager to see some combat action, they are forced to hydrate, wait, patrol the nearby area, hydrate some more and orient themselves to the arid environment. During the long wait some of the Marines' wives and lovers at home cheat on them, the most public and humiliating of which befalls Dettman, who discovers an innocent looking copy of "The Deer Hunter" sent from his wife, which the men are all seated to watch, is actually a homemade porno tape of her having sex with their neighbour. Swofford himself also infers from a letter that his girlfriend is being unfaithful. When some field reporters appear, Sykes forces his unit to demonstrate their NBC suits in a game of American football, even under the 112 degree heat. While the cameras roll, the game develops into a rowdy dogpile, with some Marines miming sex acts ("Field Fuck!"). Sykes, embarrased at his squad's rude manners and ill discipline, removes the cameras and crew from the area, the Marines are later punished.
During an impromptu Christmas party, Fergus, a member of Swofford's unit, accidentally sets fire to the base. Swofford gets the blame because he was supposed to be on watch, but had Fergus sit in for him. As a consequence, Swofford is demoted from Lance Corporal to Private and is forced to undertake the degrading task of burning excrement. The punishments combined with suspicions of his girlfriend's infidelity temporarily drive Swofford to the point of mental breakdown.
After the long stand in the desert, Operation Desert Storm, the coalition force's ground campaign, begins, and the Marines are dispatched to the Saudi-Kuwaiti border. Briefly before the action begins, Swofford learns from Sykes that Troy concealed his criminal record when enlisting and will be discharged after the end of hostilities. Following an accidental artillery barrage from friendly forces, the Marines advance through the desert, facing no enemies on the ground. Casualties are taken when friendly fire from an A-10 close air support aircraft hits U.S. vehicles. The troops march through the Highway of Death, strewn with burnt vehicles and remains of charred bodies, a product of the bombing campaign. Later, the Marines encounter burning oil wells, lit by the retreating Iraqis, and they attempt to dig sleeping holes as droplets of crude oil fall from the sky.
After the long advance, Swofford and Troy are finally given a combat mission. Their order is to assassinate two Iraqi officers, supposedly located in a control tower at a battle-damaged airport. The two take up positions in a deserted building, but moments after Swofford pinpoints one of the officers in his sights, another team of Marines appears and calls in an air strike. Troy, desperate to make a kill, pleads with the officer in charge (Dennis Haysbert) to let them take the shot. When his pleas are denied, Troy breaks down in a fit of despair and weeps. The airport is eventually bombed by U.S. warplanes. Swofford and Troy linger at the site in a daze, losing track of time and missing their pick-up. With night fallen, they try to navigate the desert but get lost. Distant cries in the darkness frighten them, and as they begin to sense that the sounds are coming from beyond a ridge, they ready their weapons and prepare to descend. They see an encampment in the distance, but on closer look they recognize it as their base camp, and the sounds as Marine voices. The war is over, they learn, and scores of soldiers celebrate this amidst a bonfire. Swofford fires a round in the air from his sniper rifle and the other Marines, who have never had a chance to fire their weapons, follow suit.
On returning home the troops parade through the towns in a jovial celebration of victory. The mood is disturbed when a disheveled Vietnam veteran, possibly suffering from the memories of the conflict, jumps into their bus, and congratulates them all. Soon after the returning home, Swofford and his comrades are discharged and go on with their separate lives. An unspecified amount of time later, Swofford learns of Troy's death. He attends the funeral, meets some of his old friends, and afterwards he reminisces about the effects of the war.
