The Outpost – An Intimate and Empathetic War Film

For one reason or another, for better or worse, there haven’t been that many war films recently. Like it or not, that break is over but luckily, it will be worth it thanks to The Outpost, based on a book called The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor by CNN anchor Jake Tapper. Originally set to premiere at this year’s SXSW Film Festival, it was yet another victim of the COVID-19 pandemic. While a theatre experience would only benefit the film so that viewers can feel everything it had to offer on a technical level, it is still one worth seeing in any form. What truly set this film apart from other recent war films was its intimate portrayal of the soldiers stationed at Combat Outpost Keating, located at the bottom of three steep mountains in Afghanistan just 14 miles from the Pakistani border. Their time would culminate with the Battle of Kamdesh, the bloodiest battle in the Afghan War in 2009.

Suffice it to say that it wasn’t easy for the soldiers of Outpost Keating. It’s location often left them at a great disadvantage (that argument, while important, was beside the point here), leading to them taking fire from insurgents on a near daily basis despite their main duty of working with the local community. Meanwhile, the cast is a large one but it allowed plenty of the soldiers the opportunity to show some personality while creating a palpable sense of camaraderie, however, the argument could be made that the majority of the characters are thin. In reality, The Outpost focuses mostly on Staff Sergeant Clint Romesha (Eastwood) and Specialist Ty Michael Carter (Jones). Watching the soldiers go about their day-to-day business, showing their youth and having fun through some entertaining interactions with one another (ribbing each other while still looking out for each other’s back) while working with the local community was fun though the film tended to focus on the former. In the end, this was still a war and although the danger became increasingly harder to dismiss, the war in Afghanistan remained a fluid situation.

Eventually, something had to give and that it did as the Taliban merely bided their time and decided to strike the outpost during its most vulnerable state. The climax of this was of course the Battle of Kamdesh. This sequence in The Outpost was easily one of the most thrilling in recent memory. It was definitely surprising how long the film stayed there and kept up with all the action. A series of long takes and a disorienting camera reinforced the sheer craziness of what was happening. Meanwhile, the film manages to do quite a lot with its budget in that regard, leaving plenty of chaos and destruction and a body count in its wake, not to mention leaving everyone and everything under a thick layer of dirt. While those familiar with the story will ultimately know the outcome, this did not make it any less suspenseful to watch because of the emotional connection it creates between viewers and these soldiers for which many could see themselves in. They may have all been young and somewhat inexperienced, their survival instinct helped them get through it.

As mentioned, The Outpost is impressive technically speaking, from the cinematography, to the sound design, and the special effects but what truly sets it apart was its script and performances. Though the grounded story and dialog fit with the film’s intimate portrayal of these characters, what sells it were the performances. While they were great across the board, carrying the film were Eastwood and Jones as Romesha and Carter respectively. In this film, Eastwood finally got to show viewers a glimpse of leading man chops in the vein of his famous father. His charisma and screen presence simply command the screen, taking charge in an engaging way. Meanwhile, Carter was arguably the closest thing to an actual character as he was the only with any semblance of a character arc. Unsurprisingly, Jones was up to the task, giving Carter humanity with a compelling and nuanced performance worthy of recognition of a man who opened up to others and found inner strength in the middle of an intense battle.

At the end of the day, The Outpost is one of the best war film in recent memory by simply making us as viewers care which is the least these soldiers deserve and is something the genre doesn’t do often enough.

still courtesy of VVS Films

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.