SPOILER WARNING
Warfare, a gritty and fast-paced film about the survival of a platoon of Navy SEALs in Iraq was shown at an early screening Thursday, April 10. Directors Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland collaborated to tell the true story of what happened to Mendoza’s platoon in 2006. The style of the film is similar to found footage, but instead the audience is watching the team’s memories of the story.
While setting up a temporary base for their group Op. 1, an explosive rocks the team during a wounded evacuation attempt. This moment changes the film’s tone to a tense and frantic scramble to survive in an unfamiliar environment.
The majority of the film takes place in and around the home which the SEALs take from its inhabitants. This movie holds viewers in close quarters with the team, with unsteady camera movements and frequent jumps between perspectives.
The movie depicts the dissociative feeling of a trapped gunfight where at any moment a bullet or grenade could fly through a window. It tells a story about the reality of war in a way that is not often portrayed.
The movie’s climaxes were dictated by different attacks the group is placed under. These moments did not serve to elevate action, instead they completely changed the stakes of the movie. This made each act feel like it had its own specific challenges.
With every wrench thrown into the operation, the team must figure out how to assess themselves and move forward despite heavy casualties and reluctant military support.
This depiction of war is realistic and more than anything, silent. Much of the movie’s tense atmosphere was born from the lack of noise in between action.
The movie was created to honor the survivors of that day, specifically those who survived intense injuries. Elliot Miller, portrayed by Shogun star Cosmo Jarvis, lost a leg and much of his mobility in the incident. His presence on set during production contributed to creating as authentic an experience as possible.
In the end, most of the soldiers escape from the house without major injuries. Despite this, the two severely injured serve as reminders of how untimely a grave incident can occur in a wartime setting. Each moment leading up to the team’s final look at the house feels tense, and it is not until they are off-screen that the audience can breathe even a small sigh of relief.
The movie’s cast includes Reservation Dogs star D’Pharoah Woon-A-Tai as Ray Mendoza, as well as Will Poulter, Stranger Things actor Joseph Quinn among many others.