Film Review: Full Metal Jacket

“Full Metal Jacket”(1987, directed by Stanley Kubrick) is a film based on the novel “The Short-Timers” by Gustav Hasford. The film’s plot is about U.S. Marines training on Parris Island and fighting in the bloody Vietnam War. The film starts with the scene of the recruits getting their heads shaved in Marine Corps boot camp. An intense training of the Marines under Senior Drill Instructor Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (R. Lee Ermey) starts to prepare the Marines to turn the young men into real killers. In the corps, “recruits are humiliated, beaten, exhausted, tricked, lied to, subjected to racial slurs and drilled, constantly drilled, physically and psychologically.” (NY Times) Among those trainees, Private Joker Davis (Matthew Modine), Pvt. Cowboy (Arliss Howard) and Pvt. Leonard ‘Gomer Pyle’ (Vincent D’Onofrio) become the main characters. Because of the fat, hopeless Pyle’s hiding of his jelly donut, his platoon is punished for every mistakes that Pyle makes. After platoon hits Pyle, Pyle’s personality changes but becomes an excellent Marine. Joker notices Pyle’s insanity as Pyle talks to his rifle. Joker witnesses Pyle shooting Gunnery and himself on the last day of training. Then, Joker goes to Vietnam as marine correspondent with “Stars and Stripes” and finally goes into the “shit.” He faces the “shit” and death of many of his colleagues through Tet Offensive and Battle of Hue. 

Kubrick’ achievement of this powerful film is praised for its cinematography. The scenes are well handled with many scenes that the camera just follow the actors. Kubrick achieves the characteristics of each Marine in the beginning to show uniqueness of the individual. D’Onofrio’s (Pyle) terrific acting is worth the kudos as the audience sees his progression becoming  a deadly monster. The scene of the murder in the bathroom makes the audience to hold their breath. The setting changes completely from Parris Island to Vietnam as if it were two different film as their color of the film changes dramatically. Kubrick also shows the irony of Joker as he is wearing slogan“Born to Kill” on his helmet and the peace button on his uniform as he was suggesting the “duality of man.” When the soldiers move, the camera pans with them to have the effect of the audience to engage in the combat. These effects of camera and editing perfectly fits the war scenes in the film. He also uses profanity dialogues that fits the reality of the boot camp and the war such as “gooks.” Kubrick uses dark lighting and sound to tense the scenes when Pyle is ready to shoot and when the Marines are in combat. The setting of the Vietnam War is almost quite portrayed to reality. Kubrick also uses the camera as the view point of the sniper to have the effect of making the audience to see what is going to happen to the soldiers while the soldiers are unaware. Towards the end, Kubrick tenses the audience with the moral consciousness of Joker to shoot Vietcong Sniper who is begging to “shoot me.” The soundtracks varies as its genre changes and the usage of each soundtrack perfectly fits each scene. Kubrick ends the film with soldiers marching to their next combat singing “Mickey Mouse Club.” 

“Full Metal Jacket” received nomination for Oscar Awards for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. The budget for the film is estimated to be $17 million and the gross is around $46 million (www.imdb.com). Also “Full Metal Jacket” won and had been nominated at many film awards for its outstanding film. It is a great anti-war movie that expresses the true, horror and nonchalant feelings of the war to the individuals. Kubrick captures an interview scene of the soldiers who have no sentimental attitude toward the war. “Full Metal Jacket” is a powerful film that leaves the audience with a strong message of the chaos of the war and humanity. It is a great film for the general audience but is rated R for violence and profanity.