Boys to men: Up-and-comers Will Poulter, Michael Gandolfini and Joseph Quinn acquit themselves wonderfully. Photo / Supplied
Boys to men: Up-and-comers Will Poulter, Michael Gandolfini and Joseph Quinn acquit themselves wonderfully. Photo / Supplied
Warfare, directed by Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland, is in cinemas now.
Rating out of five: ★★★★★
This taut, gripping Iraq War action film is utterly terrifying – all the more for being so authentically real.
US Navy SEAL veteran-turned-movie consultant Ray Mendoza wrote and co-directed his script with Britishfilm-maker Alex Garland (Civil War). Together these experts in their respective fields deliver a breathless hour and a half.
Taken from Mendoza’s and his fellow troops’ first-hand accounts and memories, Warfare dramatises a specific event from the Battle of Ramadi in November 2006, which unfolds in real-time as an American platoon’s mission goes horribly wrong.
The uniformly excellent ensemble cast of young male up-and-comers is led by Death of a Unicorn’s Will Poulter and includes Michael Gandolfini (son of The Sopranos’ James) and Joseph Quinn (who will play George Harrison in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles biopic).
With zero backstory and the sparsest soundtrack, the heartpounding tale begins with heavily armed troops tiptoeing through silent suburban streets in the dead of night before brutally commandeering the home of an innocent family.
They bust a hole in the wall and set up a covert sniper position. But when local insurgents retaliate, these boys turn swiftly into men as they attempt to escape.
Warfare is admirable on many levels. It’s a fascinating insight into the disciplined roles and technical proficiency of youths, some of whom look like they’re scarcely out of high school.
Narratively, the story eschews the war movie, pregnant-wife-back-home clichés, and tells us absolutely nothing about these men, focusing instead on the camaraderie inherent in laying your life on the line for – and at the mercy of – one’s colleagues.
Non-military audiences get to experience what an “immediate show of force” is like, and listen to the anguished cries of the wounded.
While all of this is disturbing, it’s completely enthralling and hugely powerful.
