Description

Full Metal Jacket begins by following the trials and tribulations of a platoon of fresh Marine Corps recruits focusing on the relationship between Gunnery Sergeant Hartman and Privates Pyle and Joker. We see Pyle grow into an instrument of death as Hartman has foreseen of all of his recruits. Through Pyle’s torment and Joker’s unwillingness to stand up against it, the climax of part one is achieved with all three main characters deciding their fates by their action or lack there of. The second chapter of Full Metal Jacket delves into Joker’s psyche and the repeated referral to the fact that he joined the Corps to become a killer. When his mostly behind the scenes job as a combat correspondent is interfered with by the Tet offensive he is thrusted into real combat and ultimately must choose if he really is a killer. Synopsis In this riveting look at military life during the Vietnam conflict, Stanley Kubrick, who made the powerful antiwar classics Paths of Glory(WWI) and Dr. Strangelove (the cold war), once again explores the behavior of men in battle. Full Metal Jacket, adapted from Gustav Hasford’s novel The Short Timers, is broken down into two very different parts. The first half of the film focuses on the training of a squad of Marine grunts on Parris Island, and more specifically on the troubled relationship between the brutal drill sergeant (a frightening Lee Ermey) and an oafish misfit (a brilliant Vincent D’Onofrio) who just happens to be a sharpshooter. The first half ends with a devastating, unforgettable scene, leading into the second half, which takes the grunts to Hue City, the climactic battle of the 1968 Tet Offensive and the turning point of the Vietnam War. The story is told through the eyes of Private Joker (Matthew Modine), a cynical aspiring photojournalist who is soon forced to fight for his life and the lives of his fellow recruits. The sniper scene, which takes place amid bombed-out buildings (rather than in the familiar jungles), serves as a microcosm for the Vietnam War–as well as war in general.