WARFARE: An immersive, unsentimental memoir film

Finn Bennett as JOHN, Aaron Mackenzie as KELLY, Charles Melton as JAKE, Laurie Duncan as PETE, and Alex Brockdorff as MIKEY in WARFARE

A bird's eye view of Alex Garland's filmography reveals characters thrown into a battlefield involuntarily, by necessity. They start out as scientists, journalists, or even folks looking for escape that endure grueling physical ordeals only when they realize that no one is coming to save them. Not so with Garland's latest film, WARFARE, co-directed and written by Ray Mendoza. These soldiers signed up for duty. In the movie, a platoon of Navy SEALS endures a few grueling hours on duty in insurgent Iraq in 2006. This real-time war story is based on the lived experiences of Mendoza, a former Navy SEAL. Garland's panache for filming action-packed, thrilling set pieces translates beautifully into his first actual war story.

Will Poulter as ERIK, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as RAY in WARFARE

 
Garland and Mendoza lull viewers into a web of security before pulling the rug out, which makes it all the more devastating when it happens. The film begins watching the frogmen gathered around a screen enjoying a suggestive music video. For the moment, they are just regular guys hanging with their pals during a break. The platoon then shows up for an elongated stakeout, holing up in an ordinary house across from a neighborhood market. Conversation occurs, much of it spoken into portable communication devices, but there's a lot of waiting. Cinematographer David J. Thompson uses only natural light from the windows to bathe his set pieces. They wait and watch and must not grow weary. These moments allow viewers to exist with the soldiers, vicariously experiencing the tension of nothing and something happening at the same time.

"Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come." (Mark 13:33)

Charles Melton as JAKE in WARFARE

There's an easy camaraderie amongst the men. They know each other's habits and rhythms. Every maneuver and exchange only occurs with precision as a chain of events. Many of the shots feel like photographs that could appear in LIFE. Even when things go bad and panic sets in, the men operate as a unit. Leaders instruct who will leave and in what order.

Inevitably, something goes wrong, and the men scramble to make up the difference. They are one body, and one part wounded impacts the whole. Where quiet and waiting dominate the first third of the film, once the skirmish begins, chaos takes over, and the platoon strives to regain their equilibrium.

 

A still from WARFARE

Once again, the sound design by Glenn Freemantle and Ben Barker (CIVIL WAR) takes center stage in a Garland film. The gunfire, grenades, and voices of those in distress assault the senses. The noise level switches from full blast sometimes to muted or ambient, granting insight into the soldiers' emotional and physical wellbeing. The terror is palpable and immersive. Their only hope is in standing together and relying on their training. They must become the loudest noises in the room to drown out the symphony of havoc.

The ensemble cast of characters in Warfare reads like a veritable Who's Who of It young actors, but you might not recognize them at first, donning a military style which discourages personalization. That's not to say that actors like D'Pharaoah Woon-A-Tai (RESERVATION DOGS), Cosmo Jarvis (SHOGUN), Joseph Quinn (STRANGER THINGS), Finn Bennett (TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY), Kit Connor (HEARTSTOPPER), and Will Poulter (MIDSOMMAR) do anything but top-notch work. But the star power of any one performer is secondary to the overall project.

Joseph Quinn as SAM in WARFARE

 
In the canon of movies about war, WARFARE tells a unique story. It's not a film about the horrors of war (PLATOON) or a brilliant rescue mission with sacrifices along the way (SAVING PRIVATE RYAN). It neither glorifies nor decries war. This tight, focused story about a few hours offers a glimpse into what happens in a soldier's life when the world is on fire. We experience the tumult of being under attack, the quick decision making that takes place in moments of panic, and the reserves of courage soldiers must call upon if they want to survive. There's nothing romantic about the picture Garland and Mendoza draw. It's a movie that veterans can show to their families or communities that want to understand what they lived through.

Release info: In theaters April 11, 2025

Final score: 4 out of 5