Over There

"We're monsters and war is what unmasks us," are the words that Pvt. Frank "Dim" Dumply of the 3rd Infantry Division utters while sending his wife Vanessa a video email from Iraq. Behind silver rimmed glasses and a close cropped haircut, he tries to fight back the tears and memories of leaving his wife and kid, of watching his fellow soldiers eek by a barrage of bullets, of pumping rounds of bullets into middle eastern men covered in shawls. After a quick pause, he finishes his seemingly fleeting thought with "but there's an honor and grace to it." His startling epiphany bests describes FX's new gut-wrenching look at the war in Iraq, appropriately titled Over There. Following the lives of seven Army soldiers, Over There attempts to find where the life back at home and the turmoil that boils in Iraq sinew and never pulls punches in doing so.

The six recruits are as green as a head of Boston lettuce; their staff sergeant Chris Silas a.k.a "Sgt. Scream" (Erik Palladino) snarls at his team of "virgins" as mortars fly over the heads of his soldiers, half of who aren't old enough to drink yet. Pfc. Bo Rider (Josh Henderson) is your typical twenty-year old All-American boy, a standout quarterback in high school who married his high school sweetheart, with hopes of playing football in college. Nineteen year-old Pvt. Avery "Angel" King (Keith Robinson) has a beautiful singing voice, but a loss in a choir competition in New York resulted in him joining the armed forces in rash decision. Twenty-two year old Pvt. Frank Dumply (Luke McFarlane) studied at Cornell but despite his excellent education he's still in the same boat as any high school graduate could find himself in. Pfc. Esmerelda "Double-wide" Del Rio (Lizette Carrion) is an uppity wife and mother with a high-pitched nasal voice at the tender age of twenty-two, while Pvt. Brenda "Mrs. B" Mitchell (Nicki Lynn Aycox) is a barely eighteen year old with a penchant for wallowing in self-pity. Rounding out the medley is Pvt. Maurice "Smoke" Williams (Onyx's Sticky Fingaz), a twenty-two year old goof-off rough neck from Compton.

The pilot opens with the recruits and their sergeant dug deep in the trenches and under heavy fire. Sandstorms add to the flurry of firepower that whisk by, keeping them at the mercy of both the elements and their enemy. They're awaiting command from their general to move in on a mosque that contains the leader of a terrorist cell, his men and an Arab journalist. Notwithstanding their lack of experience it's clear that the team has more heart than brains, which gets them into trouble with Silas but moves him to stick his neck out for them when they get a doubtful eye from high-ranking officials.

The relationships that form between the soldiers and their commanding officers, as well as the ones they left behind at home are deeply explored and thoroughly scrutinized; writer/director Chris Gerolomo (writer of Mississippi Burning) pens a dramatic, gut-wrenching script that stretches the limits of these relationships, showing how the fervor of war brings about personal change, however inadvertent it may be without swaying the audience toward a particular political stance. His direction coupled with producer Steven Bochco's (known most for his creation of the hit series Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue) mad scientist skills gives the gritty drama the cohesiveness and scope that pushed Bochco's previous series to their peaks during the mid eighties and mid nineties respectively.

In the spirit of fellow FX series The Shield and Nip/Tuck, Over There isn't afraid to get its hands dirty; blood is hardly scarce, recruits and commanders curse like it's going out of style, and hopelessness lingers like a two-day hangover. The acting is top-notch and a delight to watch, and with the surprise and delight comes the heartbreak that settles into your stomach when something goes inevitably awry. Over There, in it's pure essence, is a window unto a reality that has haunted and will continue to haunt Americans for years to come. Even if your son, daughter or brother isn't treading over the blown off limbs of the dead, it'll make you shed a tear for those who can only pray that tomorrow will bring them home.

Movie Grade: A

DVD Grade: A

Overall Grade: A