Hollywood star Brad Pitt says his new movie Fury, a brutal depiction of the Second World War, aims to recognise the psychological trauma war inflicts on soldiers.
Fury, which was the closing film at the London Film Festival this month and opens here today, follows a tank crew as it pushes behind enemy lines in the dying days of the war in Germany in 1945.
“It was not a film about sides,” Pitt said at the festival. “For me it was a film about that cumulative psychic trauma that every soldier carries to some extent.
“This film is about the soldiers’ exhaustion from the cold, hunger and the cumulative effect on a daily basis.
“I hope the soldiers will walk away from this and feel they are recognised.”
Pitt, along with many of the other actors in the film, lent his support to last month’s international Invictus Games for injured veterans, which was held in London.
“I learnt a lot from this film,” the 50-year-old actor said, adding that his role as the battle-hardened army sergeant “Wardaddy” was “a real study in leadership”.
“Because of this, I am now a better father,” said Pitt, who has six children with actress Angelina Jolie.
He also admitted he became attached to the Sherman tank in which he and his team spent much of the film.
“There’s nothing ergonomic about a tank,” he said. “But we were forced to familiarise ourselves with the tank and find our comfort spots. I became quite proprietorial.”
The film’s director, David Ayer, said Pitt spent a lot of time in the tank on set.
“It was like his eagle’s nest where he would look down on us,” he said.
“It was the best view,” the actor jokingly replied.
