Thank You For Your Service Blu-ray Review
War movies focus on the battles and the physical toll war causes. But very rarely do we get films, at least good dramatic ones, about the mental and emotional impacts our military men and women go through. Sure you could make the argument that FIRST BLOOD was ahead of its time, but that’s not necessarily a movie that screams PTSD awareness. Overall, PTSD is a tricky subject to broach for filmmakers, as evident by films like MAN DOWN, and its subject matter that constantly needs to be refreshed because Americans sometimes forgets about its wounded warriors.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE handles the topic of PTSD with brevity, which causes a few plot problems in the final act. But overall the film is a character piece for Miles Teller and gang to show how dark and troublesome PTSD is for some of America’s brave men and women. Teller plays Adam Schumann, who blames himself for an incident that took the life of one of his friends in Iraq. Those negative emotions are compounded by the soldier’s grieving widow, shockingly played with subtlety and raw sadness by Amy Schumer.
Adjusting with Schumann is his wife Saskia (Haley Bennett). She finds herself in between a rock and a hard place, trying to ease her husband back into suburbia, but at the same time rushing him back into parental duties as the couple has two children. Their oldest sasses and their youngest, a baby, was born while Schumann was overseas. In some moments she might as well be a single parent because Schumann can barely contain his inner demons and has to remove himself from several situations.
Also there’s Tausolo Aieti (Koale). His home life is actually a lot more interesting in terms of his coping mechanisms and anger management, but we don’t get to see a lot of those moments. Maybe it’s because Teller is a stronger actor than Koale, and the director was more confident in Teller taking the emotional helm of the film. Whereas Schumann’s pain is a lot more visual in the face, Aieti’s PTSD comes out in bursts of vocal anger and haunting visions. There’s a third man attempting to acclimate, but tragically his story’s resolution is death.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE is a sobering reminder that the U.S. is still involved in two massive conflicts, as well as a dozen smaller operations globally. Anyone could do the math and know that we have a mental health crisis that’s continuously ongoing and growing, especially with the continual ignorance of veterans from previous wars like Vietnam. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE doesn’t necessarily take a stance on anything, but it’s odd that it never seems to sway heavily towards asking for more help for our returning heroes.
At one point the movie highlights the belief that our servicemen would get the help they need if they spoke up more. It’s not an idea that’s given a lot of ground to stand on, but THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE doesn’t necessarily fight it off with logic and heart. Regardless of my frustrations, the film should be commended for giving viewers a looking into a problem that continues to be researched and talked about. If there’s anything viewers should take away from THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, it’s that a ‘Thank you’ isn’t enough.
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: (1080p HD Widescreen 2:39:1) There’s nothing wrong as this Blu-ray really hits the spot visually and in terms of clarity.
Audio: (English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1) Same goes for the audio, that manages to capture an equilibrium between loud bursts of anger and silent fear.
Staging a War (12:20): Cast and crew discuss piecing together some of the core elements of the film, PTSD and readjusting to life back home. The feature tends to focus more on the cast and how they conveyed the emotions and physical hardships of their real-life counterparts.
The Battle at Home (7:37): This feature tends to focus more on the book’s subject material and the transition to film. We heard a lot from the writers and author on this feature, which provides a nice insight into their thought process.