Film Analysis "The Hurt Locker"

The Hurt Locker is definitely one of my favorite films, however this is the first time that I’ve watched it where I only focused on the sound. I noticed how surrounding the sounds are, as well as isolated in certain parts of the film. It reminds me of the sounds in the films Gravity and Sicario. There also isn’t really a score in this film, which is very interesting. If there was a score that was present throughout the film, I think it would have taken a lot of the tension and realism of the film. I learned through one of the articles I read that the sound cues that are used are used for three key storytelling purposes: establishing specific locations, isolating the audience in character’s individual experiences, and promoting a sense of realism (Klingman).

Every location in the film has its own sound and feeling. In the opening scene of The Hurt Locker for example, the audience gets a feel of the chaotic city that they’re in. Loud traffic sounds, people/soldiers yelling and ordering civilians, this gives us a sense of understanding of what is happening in the country. Something I found very interesting was how the location sounds were made unique to each location and never cross between different locations. This provides a subconscious reference point for the audience when that same location is presented again.

Another example is whenever the audience are put inside the bomb suit and the sounds are suddenly isolated and echoed as if you’re inside the suit. This does exactly what they wanted the sound cues to do, it puts us in the character’s individual experience and we get to hear and see the world the way they are at that very moment.

The sounds used in the film were mostly real sounds recorded as opposed to synthesized sounds. One of the most iconic scenes in this film (in my opinion), is the explosion scene in the beginning of the film. The explosion doesn’t sound like the explosions usually do in action films. Instead we’re hearing the explosion through the suit, through the ground/air, and everything else the explosion is absorbing in its space. Through my research I learned that the sound designer of the film exploded about anything they could explode to get the right sound. They noticed that the sound itself wasn’t that loud, but the air in front of them trembled and the shock wave hit your body and everything inside your body shook (“His Sound Effects Are Loud and Clear in 'The Hurt Locker'). This type of feeling is definitely evident in the way the explosions are executed in the hurt locker.

Lastly, I think another important element of the sound of this film, is the silent moment. Silence has a lot of power in a film because it really makes you focus and really draws your attention. I feel almost as if this film feels more like a documentary rather than a narrative film. They really captured the realism of a War Zone and it truly feels like you are there with the characters.

    Work Cited

Klingman, Joseph. “Beyond The Boom Pt. 2: Storytelling With Sound in THE HURT LOCKER.” Film Inquiry, 13 April. 2017.

“His Sound Effects Are Loud and Clear in 'The Hurt Locker'.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2010.