Director: Ray Mendoza & Alex Garland
Starring: D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton, Noah Centineo, Michael Gandolfini
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 95 mins

Warfare is a war film directed by Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland and is based on Mendoza’s experiences during the Iraq War as a US Navy SEAL. The script and story is taken from the testimonies of the platoon members and presented in real time on one horrible day in November 2006 as the squad takes control of an Iraqi house under the cover of darkness. What follows is a bloody, pointless siege as the platoon comes under enemy attack. The film is dedicated to platoon member Elliott Miller, who lost his leg and ability to speak in the incident. With the exception of Mendoza and Miller, all of the real-life figures are given aliases for their characters in the film.

Mendoza previously acted as the military supervisor for Alex Garland’s excellent previous film, Civil War. For Warfare, Mendoza and Garland wrote the script together and although both filmmakers receive a director credit, Garland says he had more of a supporting role to Mendoza. All in, this film certainly an original and intriguing concept.

Warfare is a powerful and gripping war film that shows the genre at its best – a haunting meditation of the human experience without a forced story arc or political stance. Mendoza and Garland ratchet up the tension throughout, crafting an unnerving atmosphere that the platoon are going to be annihilated by the enemy, even though long stretches of the film are of the monotony of waiting around. There’s almost a documentary feel to cinematographer David J. Thompson’s cameras, which makes the experience all the more life-like.

The sound design, in particular stands out – this is a must-see in the cinema for the sound alone. I particularly admired how the film experiments with sound from the character’s perspective, for example a high-frequency, unearthly pitch after a bomb explodes. Save for an ending sequence, the film’s also devoid of music which really works – there are no artificial devices here to emotionally manipulate.

The performances are also brilliant, even if none of the characters receive any backstory – instead, the ensemble all coalesce as a group, like the team they are. D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai stands out as Mendoza, with a clear weight on his shoulder because he needs to relay the team’s status and any incoming information from the home base – if he messes up, he risks the team’s safety. Cosmo Jarvis is also brilliant as Elliott, who hauntingly conveys his pain and is dripping in sweat as he surveys his surroundings while on sniper duty. After his fantastic turn in May December, Charles Melton is another highlight as Jake, the Alpha Two leader who steps in to help manage the Alpha One team once all hell breaks loose.

Warfare is an incredibly immersive and visceral piece with a lean and mean quality to its pacing. I’m sure some who will criticise the film for not taking a political stance, like Garland was criticised for not doing with Civil War but that’s missing the point –Warfare is instead about the pointless destruction of war. It’s probably a stretch that Warfare is going to sustain its momentum throughout the year and into next year’s Awards season. But this is the best war film I’ve seen in a long time, and so much better than 1917 or All Quiet On The Western Front, which received considerable Awards attention in their respective years. Warfare is far more deserving of such accolades and I can’t wait to see what Mendoza and Garland do next.