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Film Review: Fury
/ October 27, 2014
Rating: MA15+
Release date: October 23rd, 2014
War is a fickle thing; It takes life and gives it, buying one man’s freedom with another man’s sacrifice. We cannot separate ourselves from the fact that it is in our history, but Fury shows we can certainly learn from it.
Causing Brad Pitt to become a better father and Shia LaBeouf to find God, Fury has intrigued viewers being described as the next Saving Private Ryan, and out ranking Ben Affleck’s Gone Girl in the US, hitting #1 at the box office making US$23.5 million on opening weekend. And while its place in the ‘war film Hall of Fame’ could be debated, I think it does deserve attention.
Directed by David Ayer (Training Day, End of Watch) Fury is a dark and dusty World War II drama set in April 1945, when the Allies are making their final push into Nazi Germany. Pitt plays “War Daddy”, a war-weary veteran leading 4 young soldiers into battle on board the tank ‘Fury’, mentoring them as they confront the inevitable complexities of war.
Confined within the claustrophobic belly of Fury, the film focuses on the 5 men as they are unravelled and rewound facing daily realities of life and death, and the challenges of faith in the fight; Wardaddy wonders if Jesus could save Hitler, and Boyd “Bible” Swan (LaBeouf) assures him that yes, even he could be saved if he asked.
Prayer and salvation come up often as men of mixed religion question how they serve God as soldiers, and what’s permissible in an age of war. There’s a tension between what they believe and how they have to act, and you quickly realise the real battle is between their ideals and life’s demands of them; none of us believe murder is ‘right’, but what do you do when it’s your life or theirs? When it’s your country’s freedom at stake? As War Daddy so profoundly puts it, “Ideals are peaceful, but history is violent.” Behind every gun is a face. A man with conscience and compassion, confronting life and death just as you are. At the end of the day, no matter what side they fight for, they have the same question to answer too: Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour? Are you saved? After all the explosions and combat strategies, they wrestle with same reality.
In an interview with RELEVANT Magazine Director David Ayer said
“People are drawn to WWII because it was a contest of good and evil. It’s very black and white. This enemy—with no concept of human rights—threw the rule book out on fighting, and our soldiers had to face that. It was a different world back then. It was a tougher generation. Our men who fought did a lot of things that are pretty edgy, pretty tough. All of the things in the movie are things that happened.
The question then becomes, how do you maintain your humanity—your moral center—as a soldier when you do have permission to cross the line sometimes? How do you not cross that line and maintain who you are? I can’t answer those questions, because I think the answer is in your own heart. And that’s something that fascinates me. How do you not lose yourself? How do you not lose your morality? How do you not lose your faith? You can only answer those questions yourself.”
Fury begins a valuable conversation about theology in war that hopefully viewers will continue once they leave, and is a stirring reminder of the power of mate-ship and personal choice.
It’s not a film to watch lightly with quiet heavy violence, but thankfully it’s matched to its context – warranting MA15+ rating, but not giving you more than what I think you would expect.
High point: Watching Logan Lerman and Shia LaBeouf own this film alongside the admirable Brad Pitt.
Low point: Realising they were inspired by real life.
Best digested with: A cold glass of water and Whiskey on the side.
8/10
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