Thank You for Your Service
2.5 out of 5 — Jeremy Wood
Based on a true story, “Thank You for Your Service,” is playing on movie screens this weekend. It’s hard to be critical of a movie with content that is so tough to absorb. Put simply — this is a very real look at what many soldiers returning from the horrors of war face each day as they try to assimilate back into a society that has no idea what they’re dealing with. While the movie is heart wrenching and gives what I assume is a very real look into the struggles of PTSD, it just never really left the ground for me.
Starring Miles Teller, who plays Adam Schumann, the film begins with a scene in Iraq in which Schumann and his fellow soldiers are trying to secure a rooftop, when suddenly a sniper bullet strikes one of the Americans. Schumann acts quickly and picks up his friend, carrying him to help when he weakens and drops the soldier down a flight of stairs. When he looks up — he fears the fall has killed his comrade. The story then flashes forward to Schumann and several other soldiers returning home, and meeting their families in a tarmac. What should have been a happy scene turns tense as a wife of a soldier who died in Iraq stops Adam before he can reach his family to see if he has any details on how her husband died. The moment is powerful and sad, as you imagine so many people all over the country doing the same thing in real life.
Schumann returns home with two other guys from the same area, and it quickly becomes apparent that they don’t quite fit in the way they used to, as they struggle to adapt back to regular life. This is where the movie stays for the remaining time, with some scenes that cause you to begin to think of all the men and women you know who have served — and wonder if they struggled the same way (for me in particular it brought to mind my Dad and Father-in-Law). We watch the three men literally fight for their lives, as they deal with suicidal thoughts and reach out in vain both to their government and each other for support. Without giving too much away, the rest of the movie just pulls on your heart. You want to scream at various characters to help, instead of thinking of themselves — and the scenes featuring the Veterans’ Affairs Hospital is infuriating to say the least — especially in light of how bad reports are even now. It is just embarrassing.
Where the film fell short for me was just in the character development and discombobulated storyline. It was all over the place. Perhaps that was the point, I don’t know. But I really wanted the film to dig into the main character, Adam Schumann, and his wife’s relationship more. Instead you just got glimpses into what their life was like. For instance, in one scene it would seem like things were beginning to fall apart for them — and in the next they were fine. Parts were missing. I wanted more. With a topic so important and so relevant — the movie was just not long enough to do it all justice. With a run time of only 108 minutes — this is a movie that really need more meat, and 2.5 to 3 hours would have been fine with me. Perhaps the budget wouldn’t allow it, or in the end they just didn’t feel like they had enough story — but I would have hung in there for it. The movie eventually gets to the crux of what is hurting Schumann so much. We see flashbacks that tell the story of the death of a soldier named Doster, the husband of the woman who sought Schumann out when he returned home. Doster’s death is one that Schumann blames himself for. We also meet the soldier who was dropped by Schumann, and learn that he doesn’t blame Schumann at all, and even laughs at the notion. This begins the healing for Schumann, and allows him to finally go to the widow of the dead soldier and tell her the story she wanted to hear. The widow (played surprisingly by Amy Shumer) forgives Schumann, and asks him to live his life to honor her husband.
The war scenes are very well produced and the acting is strong on everyone’s part in the film — there were just big chunks of the story left out, or not fleshed out enough to really draw on the emotion and gravity of the subject. Still, it’s a good movie, and worth the watch — especially if you have a veteran in your life.
