The Hurt Locker - discussion guide

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Summary

As the war in Iraq continues, we're growing used to thought-provoking films about the conflict. But The Hurt Locker does not tackle the broad issues of the war. Instead, it zooms in on a group of men with perhaps the most dangerous task of all, defusing improvised explosive devices (IEDs). These have been the hallmark of the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, set up by local fighters aiming to disrupt American and other forces. Director Kathryn Bigelow immerses us in this deadly environment, where each day could be a soldier's last. She doesn't comment on the rights or wrongs of the conflict or give us a large-scale view of its progress, but shows us the near-narcotic effect of war on this small group of soldiers.

Bravo Company have 38 days remaining in their rotation. As the film opens, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team see their leader, Sgt. Thompson (Guy Pearce), being killed by a bomb. Sgt. Will James (Jeremy Renner) is his replacement, and joins Sgt. JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty). It quickly becomes clear that Sgt. James has a reckless disregard for the danger of his job, and for the safety of his team. He is a soldier at war; everything else must take its place behind that.

Background

Kathryn Bigelow is not a veteran of the war-film genre, but this is precisely why The Hurt Locker has such force. Bigelow has a reputation for detailed action sequences and creating gripping suspense, and with cinematographer Barry Ackroyd (United 93 and The Wind that Shakes the Barley) she builds not only tension, but a sense of ever-present danger. Screenwriter Mark Boal spent time with an EOD team in Iraq to gain insight into the lives of the real soldiers who take on such deadly tasks. The result is that we're immersed in the action, the fourth member of the team. This is what commends The Hurt Locker so much as one of the definitive films about the current Iraq conflict.

The Hurt Locker has been very positively received by critics. Roger Ebert rates it ‘a leading contender for Academy Awards’, ‘a great film, an intelligent film’, praising Bigelow and her team for crafting a film so clear and thoughtful.[1] In January 2010, it was awarded Best Film by the Producers Guild of America.[2] The film has a 97% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 8.4 out of 10.[3] It has also been nominated by the Writers Guild of America for best Original Screenplay.[4]

Questions for discussion

1. What were your initial impressions after seeing the film?

2. What does the quotation from Christopher Hedges, ‘War is a drug’, signify throughout the film?

3. How does the opening sequence of the film demonstrate the danger of the team's operating environment?

4. Why does tension emerge between Sgt. James and Sgt. Sanborne? What does it show about their respective characters?

5. When the team are called to disarm an explosive device buried in the street, what techniques does Bigelow use to create suspense? How effective are these?

6. At the UN building, what is James's motivation in disarming the car bomb?

7. Colonel Reed: ‘What's the best way to disarm a bomb?’
   Sgt. James: ‘The way you don't die.’
   
   Does James's answer really reflect his approach to bomb disposal? Why does he do what he does?

8. When the team find themselves in the desert under fire, what insights do we get into Specialist Eldridge's character?

9. How does Eldridge's character change through the film? Is he more influenced by James or Sanborne?

10. Does James's character change through the course of the film? If so, how? What influences him?

11. After the team have witnessed an Iraqi man being killed by explosives strapped to him, Sanborne confides in James that he wants a son, that he wants someone to be sad after he has gone. Why does Sanborne reveal this only at that moment?

12. On returning home, James says to his son, ‘The older you get, the fewer things you love. With me, I think it's only one.’ What is the attraction of battle for James, such that it comes before all others?

13. The thrill of disarming bombs leads James to put himself back in danger (and to risk the lives of others too). What aspects of civilian life are similarly motivated?

14. What does this reveal about our searches for satisfaction?

15. Paul, the writer of a number of letters in the New Testament, called on a fellow Christian to ‘endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus’ (2 Timothy 2:3). Paul's suffering included being imprisoned for his preaching, but he wrote that he was ‘willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.’ (2 Timothy 2:10). What similarities or contrasts are there between Paul's leadership and James's? What does Paul say is his motivation for suffering for others?

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