Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Directed by: Stanley Kubrick | 118 minutes | war | Actors: Vincent D’Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey, Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Dorian Harewood, Kevyn Major Howard, Arliss Howard, Ed O’Ross, John Terry, Kieron Jecchinis, Kirk Taylor, Tim Colceri, Jon Stafford, Bruce Boa , Ian Tyler

Stanley Kubrick wanted to make the Vietnam film ‘Full Metal Jacket’ different from his earlier war film, ‘Paths of Glory’, which was a bit more unambiguous. ‘Full Metal Jacket’ shows the absurdities and abuses of war, but in addition a whole spectrum of soldier behavior and aspects of the war are discussed, both positive and negative.

The first part of the film is what most people remember most. This is mainly due to the two characters who carry this part of the film. Firstly, there is the unforgettable role of Lee Ermey as a drill sergeant, who in reality was also a drill sergeant, and so will not have had to act much. He gives the film a lot of intensity and especially humor. Second, there is the part of Leonard, played by Vincent D’Onofrio, who had gained seventy pounds for this role. He plays the weak, sensitive Leonard with gusto, and his eventual transformation gives him goosebumps.

Leonard is clearly the weakest of the group. He has less discipline and physical qualities than the rest. He is told this in no uncertain terms from the drill sergeant. After the rest of the Corps has taught him a lesson for taking the brunt of Pyle’s lack of discipline, we see him continuously with a blank expression on his face: It’s clear that something has snapped inside him. When it is discovered that he has a tremendous talent at marksmanship, another turning point takes place. He has found purpose in his life. It just doesn’t make his behavior any less disturbing: he just talks to his gun, and coddles it with the utmost care. In the exercises he started to perform better; only a pity that he first had to completely abandon his own essence and humanity in order to become the perfect marine. Not a healthy situation, as the ending scene of the first part makes painfully clear.

In the second part of the film we follow soldier Joker, who also acted as narrator in the first part, and took care of Pyle for some time. He is a kind of “everyman”, someone with whom we can more or less identify as viewers. He harbors different aspects of the soldier and the human being, symbolized by his contradictory outfit: on his helmet is written “born to kill”, but at the same time he wears a peace button. When confronted with this, he says that he does not know why he is wearing this, but that it may have something to do with the duality in man.

This kind of contradiction occurs throughout the film. So everyone is as politically incorrect as can be, but at the same time the meaning of this is invalidated because everyone is “affected” by this, and in this way is equal to each other. Moreover, it is considered subordinate to the “higher goal”: the functioning of the group. In that respect, for example, sexism is actually stimulated. Militarism here has strong sexual connotations, as in Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove. Women are named in terms of their genitals, and the guns of the Marines are presented as surrogates for this.

What is also communicated in the film is the way in which the Vietnam War is a media event. It is partly a constructed war, and one whose aims and details are not always clear: we know the war only by what we are told, of which the soldiers are aware. A typical scene for this is the moment when a film crew crouched past fighting soldiers, who often smile at the camera and share something. According to film critic Roger Ebert, this scene doesn’t work well because it seems so artificial and rehearsed, which I think is misinterpreting the scene’s function. The artificiality, and the absurdity of this, in the context of an actual war, is precisely what matters.

The final sequence of the film, in which our heroes are attacked by a sniper, is beautifully captured and suspenseful, and the final Joker’s first kill in this sequence is a pivotal moment in the film. The scene expresses several things. It’s an act of grace, but at the same time it’s the transformation of Joker into a killer. Here he shakes off his innocence for good. Together with the singing of the marines in the last shot of the film, this creates an uneasy feeling for the viewer. Furthermore, the murder scene raises questions about the motivations of the Vietnamese for waging this war.

Some scenes in the second part are not always meaningful, such as moments with Vietnamese hookers or conversations in the press room, but overall ‘Full Metal Jacket’ is a film that has many strengths, and can be appreciated on different levels. turn into.