EXCLUSIVE: ‘Warfare’ Isn’t Meant to Entertain You & That’s the Point
Ramadi, Iraq, November 2006 is the setting for Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland’s new film, Warfare. Based on Mendoza’s own experiences during the Iraq War, the film follows a platoon of Navy Seals as they watch over a group of US troops as they moved through streets of Ramadi during the Battle of Ramadi. When the home the Seals are hiding in comes under siege, the band of brothers must fight their way through chaos, injuries, and confusion if they hope to make it out alive.
Written by Mendoza and Garland, the film is told through the memories of the men who lived through it, including Mendoza who was deployed to Iraq in November of 2006. Unlike other war films, Warfare doesn’t build the narrative through backstories or character development. Instead, the narrative is told through the scope of a sniper rifle and military lingo. Filled with little dialogue, Mendoza and Garland don’t make the audience feel for the character through words but through action. Utilizing fantastic camera shots, Mendoza and Garland have allowed the audience to become another member of the platoon. When things are slow, the audience feels it. When things get tense, the audience feels it. The audience goes through all the same emotions as this platoon, without actually being in the room.
To help this feeling come to life is the production. The location the film is shot in is small, just like it was during the true events. The tanks the men ride in are small and filled to capacity with big men, just like it was during the true events. Nothing in this film is done to deceive the audience, but instead to educate them. Production designer, Mark Digby, uses the set and its pieces to show the audiences what it is really like for these men on the battlefield.
D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Taylor John Smith, Michael Gandolfini, Adain Bradley, Noah Centineo, Evan Holtzman, Henrique Zaga, Joseph Quinn, and Charles Melton play the men who make up the platoons we meet in the film. Each actor is given a task that not every actor can pull off. With little dialogue and a small set, each actor must rely on their nonverbal acting skills to propel the story on. They must trust each other to ensure the story can be understand by all. Quinn, Jarvis, Woon-A-Tai, Cooper. and Taylor John Smith are the clear standouts. Each actor easily navigates their character’s emotions as if they have been doing in the business for 40+ years. Hollywood is in good hands with this crop of individuals.
The fear, the trust, the focus these men have when faced with uncertainty is on full display in this film, which make A24’s Warfare a must see. With a run time of 1 hour and 35 minutes, the film is short and sweet. This is a war film that is unlike any that have been seen before. It isn’t meant to entertain you, and unlike other films, that’s the point. War is not entertaining. This film is meant to open the audience up to a world very few have access to it. And, it is done in an emotionally captivating way that will have the audience on the edge of their seat until the very end.
Grade: A