Home of the Brave

The War Inside, November 6, 2007 By Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME) HOME OF THE BRAVE is one of those films that is difficult to critique: the message of how war permanently alters the minds and bodies of soldiers and their families is a meaningful one and one about which we need to be reminded. Irwin Winkler has made some good films (DeLovely, Life as a House, Guilty by Suspicion), but in this film he seems to be working against the script by Mark Friedman which has a tendency to oversimplify emotions and thus loses its impact.

The film begins in Iraq where each of the main characters is at least tangentially connected. Dr. Will Marsh (Samuel L. Jackson) is in a truck driven by Vanessa (Jessica Biel) and accompanied by soldiers Tommy (Brian Presley) and Jamal (50 Cent AKA Curtis Jackson) when a roadside bomb explodes, maiming the hand of Vanessa, killing Tommy's best friend, making Jamal witness unnecessary civilian deaths, and placing Will in an impotent position as a doctor. Flash forward to Spokane, Washington where each of these four wounded people try to piece their lives together in a world that loathes the Iraq war (not at all unlike the treatment of soldiers returning from the unpopular Vietnam debacle), trying to make sense of it all.

The problem with the good idea for a movie lies in the too traditional plot lines. The actors (especially Presley and Biel) give it their all, but credibility enters and the smoke rises and we are left with a misplaced patriotism. The message is strong: the delivery of it is shaky. Grady Harp

After getting notice that they're soon going home, an American unit gets ambushed in Iraq. Will Marsh (Samuel L. Jackson) leads the drivers. Single mom Vanessa Price (Jessica Biel) survives a blast but loses her hand. Tommy Yates (Brian Presley) holds his dying best friend Owens in his arms. Jamal Aiken (50 Cent) gets hurts tripping over some bricks. They return to Spokane. Surgeon Marsh is dealing PTSD and his anti-war son Billy. Yates loses his job. Price deals with her hand and angry Aiken is haunted by killing a civilian.

The opening action scenes contain both the good and the bad of this movie. It does some compelling action. It's got good intensity. Then this ends in one of the most old-fashion melodramatic overwrought-music cry-holding-dying-buddy scene possible. That is the pull-push of this movie. It is sincere in its portrayal of the home front but it is also very on-the-nose. It's got good intentions. Everybody is acting well. It does need to pull back the melodrama.

Director Irwin Winkler's look at post-war life for several Iraq war veterans, is neither totally convincing nor entertaining. Despite having some powerful scenes, which raised some good points from a psychological and political perspective, the film failed to paint a realistic picture, which allowed the audience to truly position itself in the shoes of the characters. As I watched the film I did not entirely believe Samuel L. Jackson or Jessica Biel's character, and both were unconvincing, especially Samuel L. Jackson who had some very good moments, but due to a lacking script, went over-the-top at times. (Brian Presley) was not bad, but having 50 cent in this film was a casting catastrophe. They should have made better choices in the casting, but then again, there was a lot of other flaws in making this film, which I admit, is a tough type of film to make, but this just felt rushed and not enough precision an effort put into producing, writing and creating an original and realistic film about post-ware life.

I thought the cinematography, editing and music did very little to help matters a just didn't engage me throughout the film. The opening sequence which takes place in Iraq is almost a joke, as at times It felt like it was in East LA, now I don't know where they filmed it, but that's not a good way to start off a film. Overall this film had potential but was a misfire in my book, and had it not been for a few good scenes, moral arguments and okay acting (at times), it would get an even lower score from me. 5/10

I can see why some people kinda hate this movie. It's a drama that could've been made for TV. It shows American soldiers returning back home and not their victims life and/or point of view. But the movie doesn't try to make a political statement about the war, it does however try (and achieve to a certain extent imho) to show us the tragic (after)life of a soldier. Yes Flags of our Fathers (C. Eastwood) is a better/superior picture in that respect, but that doesn't mean that Home of the Brave isn't at least good! While there is no full attack on/against the war (excuse the pun), certain moments do criticize the events. What really made this movie watchable for me, were the actors. The main actors did a good job conveying their trauma, fear and rage. While that might not be enough for many people, I did like what I saw. I liked the movie and the discussions here show that it affects people (even if it is in a bad way) and they keep talking about it. Although some conversations go to far, this only adds to the attraction/appealing of the movie ... whether you like it or not!

Sincerity oozes from every scene of The Home of the Brave, but it can't disguise a rather routine story that has been told many times before. Essentially an updating of The Best Years of Our Lives, the film follows the trials of three veterans of the Iraqi occupation as they struggle to adjust to life back in civvy street. Jennifer Beils returns home minus her hand, Brian Presley is haunted by witnessing the death of his childhood friend while on duty, and surgeon Samuel L. Jackson is guilt-stricken by the lack of emotion he felt when he failed to save the wounded soldiers on his operating table. Like Harold Russell, Biels struggles to come to terms with the loss of her hand (although the hook has been replaced by a chunky looking prosthetic), which costs her a relationship, and like Dana Andrews, Brian Presley returns home to find his job has been given to someone else and finds employment in a low-paid job (ticket clerk at a multiplex instead of Andrews' soda jerk). In easily the least convincing storyline, Jackson seeks refuge from his feelings in alcohol.

The film's script can best be described as prosaic, with a couple of high-points standing out from the alarming reliance on familiar phrases and sentiments. The scene in the vice-principal's office is well played, and there are a couple of insightful moments, but everything looks too familiar, as if the film has been cobbled together as a kind of homage to the best of previous 'coming home' movies.

While no one questions the bravery and dedication of the troops from all countries in places like Afghanistan and Iraq – and there is no suggestion that this film is anything other than a genuine attempt by the makers to depict how it feels to find yourself a stranger in your own land with emotions you can't control or understand – you can't really hope to create a successful film if you're not prepared to allow it to embrace the bigger picture. I wonder how many people return from these places feeling betrayed by their leaders, and that they've been used by their country for reasons other than altruistic. The idea that the war in Iraq is about America's need for oil, and the questions arising from the States' heavy involvement on the world stage and the perception such an involvement gives rise to amongst its own population and people around the world, is only briefly alluded to – and even then by a troubled juvenile who is ostensibly rebelling against his parents.