MYST POST #1: "Lone Survivor"

I am a huge fan of Mark Wahlberg. I have seen almost every movie he has been in, and think he is just a phenomenal actor. So, when Lone Survivor came out and I knew Marky Mark was starring in it, I automatically wanted to see it. I have started to appreciate war films more because of how complicated it is to accurately portray what happens overseas. Within the first 20 minutes of this film, it was obvious that the casting was spot on. 

Also, I knew of Taylor Kitsch, who plays Michael Murphy, because of my familiarity with the television show Friday Night Lights, and was completely blown away by his performance. Even the relative unknowns in the film did a spectacular job of capturing that emotion of being away from home and the heartbreak that comes along with war. As a viewer, I don't think that true emotion can really be faked, but these actors brought the characters to life in a way that I've never seen before. Not going to lie, I was brought to tears repeatedly, even before the first death occurred. 

The editing of this movie was very fast-paced, as any war movie tends to be. From the beginning there were numerous circle, panoramic shots were the audience member thought that they were in the room with them. This added to the emotional connection the director was clearly trying to create right from the start. When their mission begins, there are more close shots of their faces than I originally expected. This as well added to our sympathy for them and the situation they are in. When the action begins, we follow them as they fall or as they run, keeping us with them throughout the whole fight and struggle to survive. Because of this, the use of long shots was rare unless they were in a new position. I was surprised by this, but it worked out well in the long run.

The one scene that made a huge impression on me was when Marcus Luttrell (Wahlberg) awakes the morning after the attack and is alone and severely injured. The scene starts with us waking up with him, as we go from a black screen to slowly seeing light, just as Luttrell is. We get close ups of his injuries and the sound is amplified so we hear his breathing even more than normal. Also, the sounds of the nature around him are present and the light shines on the trees in a way that is showing both us and Luttrell that there is still hope. We then see him struggle to get up and make his way to a river where he immediately falls in. From there, we are only seeing a shot of Luttrell as he breathes slowly, in slow motion it seemed. Then, his face automatically changes to fear and we don't know the reason until about ten seconds later when the shots change. This scene, I believe, was the longest one that didn't have a break to it. That was purposeful to convey the feelings going through his head at this obviously heartbreaking time and to highlight the importance of that. 

Overall, I was blown away by everything Lone Survivor had to offer. It made me think not only about the situation, but about the different shots and lighting that can be used to convey the mood. I would definitely give this a 5/5 and would recommend to anybody, regardless of their movie taste. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoLFk4JK_RM