If you're looking for a good dose of depression, this is one for you! I'm not kidding, I cried alot. I can't say from experience, but I think this is a very realistic look at what it would be like for a family when the husband/father comes home, suffering from PTSD. Here's the general plot of the story (don't worry, no real spoilers will be in this post):
Movie begins with family sending off their soldier - Captain Sam Cahill (Toby McGuire) - to Afghanistan. Sam has a troubled brother named Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) and an overbearing father that lets Tommy know that Sam is the better of his two sons. Not exactly happy harmony, but they've grown up like this, so that's just how it is. Sam's helicopter goes down, the officers show up at his wife's - Grace (Natalie Portman) - door to tell her the bad news. They have a funeral. Tommy finally starts to straighten out and decides to help Grace out with her two little girls - Isabelle (Bailey Madison) and Maggie (Taylor Geare) - and they become close. Then one day, the phone rings: Sam's not dead, he'd just been captured. Sam comes home, things go to poot. Family tensions arise again and Sam suffers from PTSD, scaring everyone around him and reeking havoc on his own house. I won't say how, but the movie doesn't end there. It is a semi-happy ending, but doesn't show anything being resolved really. However, it does feel like the film is complete - you aren't left hanging.
Okay, now that we have the loose synopsis down, let me just say that all actors did an amazing job - especially Bailee Madison who plays the older daughter of about 10 years of age. This girl is one to watch for! The range of emotions and feelings this little girl has to portray would be daunting for even an accomplished adult actor, and she is flawlessly believable. I cried when she cried, was scared when she was scared. Did I mention she's only 10?? She pretty much stole the whole show.
This movie is very un-hollywood and portrays a regular middle class family. The rest of the cast does an amazing job as well. (I'm a Gyllenhaal fan, so I'm a bit prejudiced on his part, but still, they were all fantastic.) In retrospect, their performances far outweigh the serious sadness you experience while watching them. While I'm glad I got to see it in theaters, I think it would be just as good at home, so if you're not sure you'd want to see it, wait til it comes out on DVD. But definitely rent it!
This movie makes you reconsider your life and the people in it. I'm still feeling the effects of it, one of those weird drifting feelings where you don't know what to think.
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