Stanley Kubrick had many obsessions throughout his life and career. He loved a good notebook. He adored animals, particularly cats. And he had a big old man crush on Napoleon Bonaparte. There was however, one nagging problem when it came to the
exiled emperor of 19th century France. Kubrick could not understand
how a master strategist like Napoleon could be such a noob when it
came to invading Russia. No army had ever managed to successfully
invade Russia in 600 years, so why did Napoleon attempt it during the
winter of 1812, when his soldiers were already pushed to their limits
and dangerously low on supplies? This was a frequent source of
confusion and frustration for Kubrick. I have a similar issue with
Kubrick and his writing of Private Pyle’s character arc in Full Metal Jacket.
Private Leonard Lawrence enters Full Metal Jacket as a
slack jawed mouth breathing dullard. His amusement at being berated
by Drill Instructor Gunnery Sergeant Hartman earns him the moniker
‘Gomer Pyle’ and the first of many beatings. He is unfit, slow to
learn, disliked by his peers and routinely humiliated. Then, under
the tutelage of Private Joker, Pyle transforms into a well trained
killing machine. He gains the respect of Hartman and graduates as a
United States Marine Corps Infantry Rifleman.
Immediately following this, he is found sitting
in the latrine with his rifle Charlene. He claims he is ‘in a world
of shit’, and proceeds to murder Hartman before blowing his own
head off. This is something I could never understand, and is the
first of two points I would like to make on the subject. Pyle has
achieved the impossible - he has become a Marine. So why is he still
‘in a world of shit’? Fair enough to say that he was in a world
of shit, but now? Why not kill Hartman weeks ago? Why not blow your
head off when you’re at your absolute lowest? Why wait until you’ve
achieved the one thing no one said you could do before killing
yourself? Other than to cap off the Parris Island segment with a
shocking climax, what logical reason is there to place this scene
here?
My second point is
this - assuming Pyle wasn't drafted, why didn’t he just quit? Hartman hounded him relentlessly
to leave, and it seemed to be an option, so why stick it out? I can
see only two reasons why someone might choose to continue training
despite the torture and abuse Pyle received:
- He had been given a court order stating that he either go to prison or join the Marines, and Pyle believed the alternative was worse.
- He needed the money. Perhaps Pyle was the sole income earner for his family, and maybe the Marines was the only employer willing to give him a job?
Now I am aware that none of the characters in Full
Metal Jacket have fleshed out backstories, and that this was a
conscious decision on Kubrick’s part. But if the audience is to
believe that a character’s derangement was inevitable and
unavoidable, then one or two lines about his criminal past or his
destitute family might have sold that point more
convincingly.
Kubrick’s screenplays evolve over years of
countless writers, drafts and meetings. During filming, he rewrites
scenes himself, over and over again with no concern for time or
budgetary constraints. Every single story decision and line of
dialogue is considered numerous ways before being immortalised on
film. Private Pyle’s unconvincing character arc therefore, like Napoleon’s
decision to push forward into a Russian winter, will forever remain a
mystery for the ages.
