I have been trying to watch The Hurt Locker for almost a year now. I rented it, borrowed it from the library, thought about seeing it in the theater but something inevitably stopped me from watching it. I spent a lazy rainy Saturday morning finally getting through it and after so much hype I'm not sure where I landed on this one.
Director Kathryn Bigelow has always stood out to me because there are such a handful of female directors out there and even fewer who go beyond making romantic comedies. Bigelow helmed one of my favorite guilty pleasure flicks, Point Break and I found the film to be surprisingly masculine. The same can be said of The Hurt Locker. It tells the story of a bomb squad in Iraq who are at the edge of death on a daily basis. It's gripping but I left very unsatisfied without knowing why. The film won an Oscar for Best Picture in 2009 as did Bigelow for Best Director (first woman to win the award). There were 10 films nominated for Best Picture and I remember being very frustrated that Inglorious Basterds didn't win. For me, it was a masterpiece and the best film that year. There were several other films in the category that seemed very worthy, and after finally seeing The Hurt Locker I truly think the Academy made the politically correct choice as opposed to the right choice. But hey - they have a knack for doing that I suppose.
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