Camp X-Ray

So this movie was a difficult one to get through because I know quite a bit about Guantanamo Bay and the military. The first huge disclaimer is that this movie gets A LOT of stuff wrong. It's not 100% wrong and they probably got more things right then I or someone else would give it credit for, but like a lot of films, the things that they get wrong often outshine the things that they get right. I'm going to try my best to not bore you with the details and focus this review on the story rather than the realism they sacrifice for the sake of a story. However, I just want it to be known that there are a lot of liberties taken with this movie, the realism issues are pretty glaring and you should not take this movie as a source of truth about Guantanamo Bay.

Camp X-Ray follows the story of a young private first class by the name of Amy Cole (played by Kristen Stewart). She is deployed to Guantanamo Bay in what I deduce is 2009. They never really state the exact date but the time stamps in the beginning say 8 years after 9/11 so 2009 it is.

She is introduced to how life as a guard at Guantanamo Bay is very difficult as these Soldiers are looking after dangerous terrorists, but at the same time their jobs are very mundane compared to other Soldiers in combat scenarios. She eventually comes across a detainee by the name of Ali (played by Peyman Moaadi). She discovers that he is a very troubled detainee who has been in custody for 8 years and has made life very difficult for the guards in his cell block. She sees that very same troublesome behavior first hand.

But as the movie goes along, she starts to develop a slight semblance of a friendship with this detainee and this provides insight into his mindset, but also the mindset of Soldiers and detainees alike in Guantanamo Bay.

Something really impressive about this film is how low budget it feels at yet doesn't feel at the same time. It is a very intimate movie with very few location changes and close quarters interactions between PFC Cole, Ali, and the other Soldiers she runs across, including a chauvinist team leader by the name of Corporal Ransdell (played by Lane Garrison). Not a whole lot of "action" happens in this movie and the vast majority of it is just people talking in these close quarter rooms and hallways. There's usually a barrier of some sort between Cole and Ali (#symbolism) and it's more about the dialogue and relationships she builds between her and Ali and the Soldiers around her.

While I'm giving the movie some credit, I do want to applaud some of the issues that the movie touches on. I will say some of them are handled a little heavy handed than others and the facts aren't totally correct, but I do appreciate films that at least try to delve into those issues about the military.

Another thing to note is that the performances in this film were pretty good.

For as much Twilight crap as Kristen Stewart gets (and partially deserves) I think she actually did a pretty good job in this movie. I know women in the military who Kristen Stewart's character reminded me of. I think she did a really good job playing a young, inexperienced Soldier who's first big deployment is to a unique place like Guantanamo Bay.

The other actors around her did a good job as well. I'll talk about Lane Garrison's character a little more later, but I thought he did a good job as the chest beating tool Soldier creating conflict for the main character. I haven't seen Peyman Moaadi in a lot of things but I really liked him in this film and I'd like to see him in more. John Carroll Lynch plays a burnt out officer. He's probably the least developed of all the characters, but I liked his big moment in the film. And the other guys Cole works with were played very well.

There's some pretty good messaging in the film about some timely issues for Soldiers in the modern military addressed in this movie. They talk about the kind of wars we fight today compared to the wars we used to fight and how that affects Soldiers today. They talk about the experience of Soldiers at Guantanamo Bay compared to those deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and the toll that can have on people. The movie has some interesting commentary on female Soldiers that I don't think they touch on enough in the film. And of course, the movie has some political feelings about Guantanamo Bay as a whole that are at least worth discussing. Again, on all those fronts, I think this movie takes a few too many liberties to get a point across, but I can appreciate the intentions.

I think my biggest issues come with how heavy handed some of the messaging is in the film. Some of the characters in the movie are caricatures while some are made sympathetic and reasonable just for the sake of creating a story and these interactions would never happen in reality.

A really good example is Cole's immediate superior played by Lane Garrison. From the beginning, he is a caricature of the ignorant chest beating Soldier you imagine from Full Metal Jacket. And don't get me wrong, I know people in the military who are just as big of tools as Lane Garrison is portrayed in this film, I'm not saying its totally off at all. Like I said, the movie feels a little heavy handed to make a point for a narrative. And for people who aren't aware of reality versus creative liberty, that narrative driven messaging might get through.

This is not a bad story on paper. Finding the humanity in others that authority or governments have ingrained in us to think are just monsters is a good message. I think if you take this story out of Guantanamo Bay, it's a really interesting story. It's a really well shot, low budget film that hits on some really good issues. But I do think the movie takes its messaging a little bit past the point where my suspension of disbelief could allow it.

And that's not the film or the directors fault. It's totally within their rights to message whatever they want in whatever way they want to. I just thought the movie was a little bit predictable, a little preachy, and not based in any kind of real world reality. Again, it touches on some good timely topics and has some good things to say, but not all of it hits the mark the way I think I would have wanted it to.

I'm not going to say you should avoid this film because there are some things to like about it. I would just say if you're going to watch it, try and take it all with a grain of salt and see the good themes its trying to convey, although not in perfect execution all the time.

But those are my thoughts on Camp X-Ray. What did you think? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @MovieSymposium as well as send me your requests for films I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter, you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog.

Thanks for Reading!