Jarhead / ***1/2 (R)

The story of a Marine sniper named Tony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) who with his spotter Troy (Peter Sarsgaard) are trained to fight a war in which they never fire a shot – the 1990 Gulf War. It is not about action, not about adventure, not about easy laughs, but about the fundamental changes that took place within him as the result of the experience. For the rest of his life, Swofford tells us, whether he holds it or not, his rifle will always be a part of his body. It wasn’t like that when the story began. Powerful and haunting, directed by Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”), also starring Jamie Foxx.

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