Discussing Jake Gylanhaal on this sub might be unoriginal at this point, but he’s a phenomenal actor, definitely one of the best his generation has to offer. He gives us a disturbed and visceral glimpse into the mindset of Swofford as he slowly descends into madness while fighting in the Persian Gulf.
Swofford is someone who feels he needs to prove himself in war to justify his existence (His own conception symbolising this) or to maintain his own perception of honour. When he finds out he’s going to war he jumps at the chance that he can finally achieve honour and glory in combat, earning self respect and finally being able to earn the same markings his father received after Vietnam. It’s important to note he constantly compares himself and his role in war to Vietnam, (perhaps a symbol of his father and how he looked down on him) and there’s plenty of Vietnam imagery to show what he expected to find in war (apocalypse now, the vet near the end)
As he waits, and waits for the war to begin he begins to lose his mind, his purpose in life is so close he can touch it but it isn’t quite there yet. His demotion after the Christmas Eve incident is a catalyst for his boredom and frustration turning into violent rage as he shoves his rifle in front of and threatens Fergus, probably my favourite scene out of the entire thing and one that shows Gyllenhaals incredible versatility as an actor.
When the war does start it is against an enemy he never meets and never sees, he stands there blithely unresponsive as shells explode around him, demonstrating not only his disbelief at finally being at war but also him observing the futility of his role as he realises he won’t be fulfilled any time soon. Later when he finally gets the chance to do the one job he trained for in shooting dead the Iraqi commander in the gutted building , what he was waiting to do for months he feels completion for a few minutes. This is what war was supposed to be to him. He is what he believes a soldier should be. But he never gets the chance to be a soldier and fulfil himself, technology (another key theme in the story) races ahead of him again and does the job quicker, yet again.
This film is an absolutely fantastic character study, given its themes of monotony and boredom I thought it was appropriate to revisit it especially given the current circumstances. If you’ve seen it before, go and watch it again. If you haven’t, I couldn’t recommend it enough, it’s one of my favourite war films
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/hh4am0/jarhead_2005_a_war_film_made_from_the_viewpoint/
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