The American Psychiatric Association defines Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as, "Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that may occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event, series of events or set of circumstances. An individual may experience this as emotionally or physically harmful or life-threatening and may affect mental, physical, social, and/or spiritual well-being. Examples include natural disasters, serious accidents, terrorist acts, war/combat, rape/sexual assault, historical trauma, intimate partner violence and bullying." In the era of World War One this condition was known as "shell shocked" and was far less understood than our modern era.
According to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs the number of military service people who have PTSD, "Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF): About 11-20 out of every 100 Veterans (or between 11-20%) who served in OIF or OEF have PTSD in a given year.Gulf War (Desert Storm): About 12 out of every 100 Gulf War Veterans (or 12%) have PTSD in a given year.Vietnam War: About 15 out of every 100 Vietnam Veterans (or 15%) were currently diagnosed with PTSD at the time of the most recent study in the late 1980s, the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS). It is estimated that about 30 out of every 100 (or 30%) of Vietnam Veterans have had PTSD in their lifetime."
This brings me to the tiff premiering film Causeway, I hesitate to say "starring" Jennifer Lawrence as this is a film far removed from popcorn spectacle. Along Ms. Lawrence is Brian Tyree Henry. The film marks the feature film debut of director Lila Neugebauer working from a script written by Elizabeth Sanders, Luke Goebel and Ottessa Moshfegh.
Jennifer plays Lynsey a U.S. Veteran returning to America dealing with a traumatic brain injury that she received while serving in Afghanistan. She arrives at a care facility where she is trying to rehab. She has mobility issues, panic attacks and struggles with PTSD. Jayne Houdyshell plays Sharon, Lynsey care taker. In the midst of this struggle where even the act of driving a car brings out a deluge of painful emotions Lynsey's goal is not to transition to civilian life but to redeploy in another tour of military service.
The camera, "we" sit across from Lynsey as she transverses her way back home, to New Orleans. The silence as she looks out the window as the bus moves across American highways, we she the look of apprehension and determination on Lynsey's face. She arrives home unknown to her mother. Her mom wanted to plan a heroes welcome. Lynsey just wants to sleep.
A near empty fridge freezer, a pick up truck that needs a new carburetor that Lynsey doesn't want or doesn't have the money to replace underlies her need to return to work, which for her means a war zone. For now, she applies for a job as a pool cleaner. As she is driving home she once again as a debilitating panic attack.
This story could be now or perhaps it was twenty years ago when we see a C.D. Player in a car. That's the thing about America at war, it spans decades. Decades of returning soldiers trying to return to life in America. Decades of pain, torment and silent suffering.
This is a film anchored by performance. Lynsey in a Doctor's office retelling the day she was driving in a convoy in Afghanistan which came under attack is told by her without flashy Michael Bay flashbacks. When she mentions the explosion we the audience are not jolted by a fireball across the screen with a giant soundtrack boom. The camera slowly zooms towards Lynsey as her retelling draws both the Doctor and us, the audience close to this tragic and traumatic event.
The day Lynsey is driving home after getting the pool cleaning job and the pick up truck she is driving breaks down Lynsey drives it to a nearby garage. Where is meets Henry, a mechanic (Brian Tyree Henry) they strike up a friendship. Watching their burgeoning friendship is a joy in a movie that has such intense material.
Causeway is in no way a "message" movie. It is a slice of life film. Causeway is a film that follows people navigating random traumatic life circumstances in American life. It reminds us that the person sitting next to us on a bus or having car problems near us on the morning commute maybe dealing with events that scar both physically and mentally for the duration of life. As Lynsey's mom remarks upon her return home, "Well, you look like you." It is the hidden wounds that society does not see that can be the hardest to navigate in a world that is built and functions well for able-bodied, mentally well adjusted people. People may leave a war zone but the war is always there. What we ask of each generation that is shipped to war and the cost they pay is far too great and the burden they carry far too heavy.
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