Thank You For Your Service

Starring: Miles Teller, Beulah Koale, Joe Cole, Scott Haze, Haley Bennett, Amy Schumer, Omar J. Dorsey, Keisha Castle-Hughes, David Morse
Directed by: Jason Hall
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Three soldiers return from Iraq and suffer to transition back to civilian life.

Review:

Tim: I had a hard time finally committing to sitting down and watching this movie. It was hard to get motivated because it just feels like we've seen this movie before. I am not trying to take anything away from soldiers returning from war- I can't even fathom how difficult that transition is. And yet, in an art form like film, we've seen this story multiple times. The Iraq War was terrible and I appreciate movies exploring the human impact of that war. It's worthwhile to spend time reflecting on the cost, both in lives lost and in lives ruined. It just feels like that's been done numerous times at this point. So, I went into Thank You for Your Service a bit reluctantly.

That all being said, while the movie doesn't quite do enough to completely separate itself from the multiple others tackling the same subject, it does tell a powerful enough story that I left the movie feeling thankful I sat down and watched it. I might not have loved the film, but I did enjoy it. In some ways, that's a pretty large accomplishment. I could have easily dismissed this as being redundant. The movie is good enough, though, that you can't make that argument completely.

The story focuses on three soldiers returning home. This worked from a storytelling perspective, because we get to see three different responses to the traumatic events of the war and coming home. It allowed us to see the different ways people deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. I found the story of these three men interesting and there were a few unexpected twists and turns along the way, which helped hold our attention. It also helped that this movie was based on a true story. It made the film feel more believable, knowing it wasn't just a fictional story.

Miles Teller is good in the lead role. I really liked Teller early in his career, but my appreciation had waned a bit in recent years. Luckily, another strong performance from him here reminded me that the guy is a very talented actor. He works well in the lead role and was believable in the part. Beulah Koale and Joe Cole might not be as effective as Teller, but they do add strong performances. I was very surprised how much I enjoyed Haley Bennett here. She's been underwhelming in a number of movies I've seen her in. She seemed really good and memorable here, though. I enjoyed her performance. It was nice to see Amy Schumer in a dramatic role, although she didn't have all that much to do. Overall, the cast was quite solid.

I appreciated how this film tackled the hard subject of soldiers returning from war. While it's true that this has been done numerous times after every war we've fought, I admit that there is still real value in understanding the turmoil these men (and women) face. This movie took an unflinching look at the horrors of post-war life. It dug a bit into the lack of care and support that many soldiers face. The government doesn't support its former soldiers as well as it needs to. While I still felt like I'd seen this movie before, it felt like this one dug a bit deeper into the experience many soldiers have. While watching it, it didn't feel redundant, it felt important.

While I might not have loved Thank You for Your Service, this is still an effective, timely movie. It might have been better had it been made several years earlier. For better or worse, it does feel like we've had a lot of these kinds of movies. Still, even if you've seen most of them already, there's enough here to make it worthwhile to sit down and watch.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Last Flag Flying, American Sniper, In the Valley of Elah, Stop-Loss, Jarhead