Fury

Down and Dirty: Gruesome, honest depiction of the mantra – ‘War Is Hell’

Director: David Ayer

Big Names: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman

Fury, David Ayer's latest directorial effort, is a film about a fictional American tank squadron in the latter stages of World War II. The group, led by seasoned killer Sergeant Don Collier (Brad Pitt), begins the advance into Germany whilst inheriting a new machine gunner (Logan Lerman). Unfortunately for the squad, he is as green as it gets. Inexperienced, unconfident, and scared, his struggles to find an identity within the Sherman tank are equal parts heartbreaking and invigorating. The film itself is a stark depiction of what war can do to men – and in that it stands in good company.

The HBO miniseries 'Band of Brothers' captured the following ideas about war with emotional tact.

1) War will always create absolute agony.

2) There is no greater bond than that of men in battle together.

Fury captures these same notions in a similar fashion. And while I thought Band of Brothers had a monopoly on compelling World War II imagery, Ayer proves otherwise here.

The violence in this movie is overwhelmingly graphic. Cringe-worthy even, though it doesn’t quite reach Tarantino levels of gore. You won’t see it and think ‘Those are some really good special effects!’ No, you will think ‘That man’s head just got blown off.’ This makes Ayer’s purpose of showing that war is indeed hell much more accessible. The film is filling your mind with realistic depictions of violence and death at every turn of the tank. But the violence also starts to leave you anesthetized. It is almost too prevalent to have the impact the director desires. The audience grows numb to the kill shots by the end of the narrative. Although it’s never comfortable, it doesn’t shock you like it did initially. Hell starts to feel like purgatory. Perhaps Ayer is a genius though. Maybe this is a nuanced denunciation of the trend society exhibits on the whole in regards to violence. Up the pain threshold until censorship has dissipated altogether – keep watching the evil that unfolds before you and then ask yourself the question of why you’re immune to it.  

There is a more blatant purpose for the violence. When you step back and consider that this is legitimately how men died 70 years ago, the queasiness starts to set in. This is not Call of Duty. There’s no ‘+100’ bonus for a headshot. Instead there’s just the headless body of a man lying in the dirt: a man who had brothers in arms within his unit.

Brothers in arms. Ayer uses the violence to bring these men together – to bond them in a way that no other human being can possibly understand or empathize with. These unique and deadly experiences serve to forge a connection that can only be shared by those in the trenches. Those who know what it means to sacrifice your life and put it in another man’s hands. On that front, Fury is impeccable. Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Bernthal, and Micheal Pena all put in top dollar performances as the veteran tank squad and Logan Lerman may have landed his breakout role. He plays the innocent and inexperienced typist turned soldier perfectly, bringing the full emotional range he displayed in ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower.’ He is shaped and molded by the men of his unit, especially Sergeant Don Collier. Pitt’s Sgt. Collier is ruthless, efficient, and loyal to the death. It is inspiring to watch him lead a group of men into battle - even if it’s a fictional one on a giant screen. He harvests components of his Inglorious Basterds character, but only the best shades of Lt. Aldo Raine seep through.  Jon Bernthal and Michael Pena also put in solid performances as the glue guys who keep everyone together. But it is Shia LaBeouf’s character that I found most intriguing.

Boyd ‘Bible’ Swan is a devout believer of the Christian faith. Within the unit, he fields the typical harassing questions like whether Jesus loves Hitler, but he also provides the compass in a moral wasteland. His faith and reliance on scripture prove to be representative of the goodness man can find in God while traversing the valley of sin and death. When scripture like Isaiah 6 and 1 John 2 affect the hearts of the men in times of trial it is truly moving. It is exciting to see Shia LaBeouf so adamantly and respectfully take on the identity of a man of God in the medium of Hollywood film. Ayer is a Christian himself and I believe that he does the film a service by including his faith in a tasteful manner.

The characters are layered, the brotherhood is unbreakable, and the violence is prevalent. Fury is a war movie through and through. If graphic content is palatable to you, it’s worth a watch. Just keep in mind the message behind it.