The Lucky Ones
The past couple of years have seen several films about soldiers coming home from Iraq, none of which take a similar slant on the process. Last year brought “Home of the Brave,” an underrated melodrama about the extreme emotional trauma that comes with the ghosts of combat. Earlier this year came Kimberly Pierce’s “Stop-Loss,” a profound and gripping drama about three friends from Texas whose tours of duty are extended, each with deep emotional consequences for the soldiers.
Co-writer/director Neil Burger (“The Illusionist”) takes a more humanistic and balanced look at the ordeal of coming home than those films do, following three soldiers who get to talking on the plane home, and end up sharing a rental car when flights are delayed when the power goes out in New York City.
At the start of the film, Cheever (Tim Robbins), Colee (Rachel McAdams), and TK (Michael Pena) are strangers to one another with a shared experience of not just serving but being injured in Iraq. Colee and TK are on 30-day leaves while Cheever is out for good. But as they travel across country to their respective stops- Cheever back to his wife and son, each with news for him that is disheartening in its’ own way, Colee to drop off a guitar to a fallen friend’s family in Vegas, and TK to his fiancee, who’s meeting him in Vegas- the bonds of loyalty and friendship take hold of this unexpected trio as the difficulties of getting back into the world rear their head.
More than either of the other films mentioned above, Burger balances a more negative view of the war with a series of encounters that shows the fundamental good in people when confronted by those who serve our country. Of course, some of it comes out from a false sense of patriotism that’s forced down our throats by those who led us to war, but you get the feeling watching the film that these people are the real deal more often than not, and it makes for an inspiring look at our country and how they react to our soldiers.
Robbins, McAdams, and Pena all score acting knockouts in their varied roles. Robbins gets deep into the pain of Cheever, who is unable to cope with the way life has changed for those around him, and pays the mental price as he tries to find a way to give his life meaning and look out for those he cares about. Pena continues to deliver the goods as a dramatic actor in projects ranging from “Crash,” “World Trade Center,” and even escapism like “Shooter.” Here, he’s a smart guy- with high-reaching ambitions- who is plagued by thoughts of what his fiancee would think if she knew the truth about his situation. Most surprising is McAdams, who is barely recognizable from her star turns in “Wedding Crashers” and “Red Eye” as a down-home Evangelical Southern girl with little real common sense about how the world works, is most surprising, holding her own by carving a specific niche for her character, who has the most to learn about life and the way people can be. Burger’s film has a tough time finding its’ footing at times- the tone-deaf but oddly fitting score by Rolfe Kent throwing me for a loop at times- but his actors get to the heart of the matter in ways that go beyond the call of duty.
