★ 8 / 10
Beautiful, thought provoking and emotionally connecting
DogAteMyUsername
The movie is about two veterans finding help to hold on to themselves from the right person at the right time. Sometimes, I felt myself complaining about the…
The movie is about two veterans finding help to hold on to themselves from the right person at the right time. Sometimes, I felt myself complaining about the pace of the movie, but the film has its right to the current pacing. The pain and awkwardness have to be shared by the audience. There are some good laughs here and there.The movie has its ups and downs with respect to dialogue, acting and camera. There are some absolutely beautiful camera angles and some sharp dialogues towards the end of the movie that elevate the movie to another level.
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★ 9 / 10
Sleeper hit, worth the watch
zennith
Emotionally gripping film about surviving trauma and learning how to move into a life of hope and redemption in spite of it. Virginia Madsen did an excellent…
Emotionally gripping film about surviving trauma and learning how to move into a life of hope and redemption in spite of it. Virginia Madsen did an excellent job playing the doctor. Her raw performance conveys her nervousness taking on her first patient. You can see she has her own story, but she doesn't make it about herself and professionally takes on the case with compassion, but you know she is no pushover. Steven Grayhm, who I didn't catch at first was the lead actor, writer and director. I'm very impressed with his ability to tell a gripping, raw story. I have never heard of him, but I think he is a creative to watch going forward. Even though I spent most of the movie assuming something devastating was going to happen, I could also sense the potential for restoration and redemption in the midst of the tumult. It ends in a place of hope. Vondie Curtis-Hall rounded out the main actors and also delivered an electrifying performance as the old dog turn mentor. He has his own trauma and story, but don't count him out, he's a survivor too. I hope people give it a chance.
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★ 7 / 10
the price of service
ferguson-6
Greetings again from the darkness. We expect movies to entertain us, and the really good ones also carry a message or educate us on some important topic. This…
Greetings again from the darkness. We expect movies to entertain us, and the really good ones also carry a message or educate us on some important topic. This film from writer-director Steven Grayhm opens our eyes to the difficulties military veterans face when they return from war. Of course, numerous other films have taken on PTSD, and filmmaker Grayhm is sensitive to this history as he portrays the emotional, physical, and societal challenges that must be dealt with.Grayhm undertook years of research with veterans and much of what we see here was derived directly from those personal discussions. The film opens with an elderly man in a parole hearing. We learn Whitney St. Germain (the always great Vondie Curtis-Hall) is a veteran and has served 30 years of a life sentence at Leavenworth. As he's paroled, we skip to the final day at a paper mill in Massachusetts. Another veteran, Calvin Cole (Mr. Grayhm is also the lead actor) is one of those put out of work - or as Calvin calls it, "between gigs" by the closing of the mill.It takes a while for these two men to cross paths. By the time they do, Calvin (thanks to drugs and booze) has been charged with assault and forced to participate in a VA program run by Dr. Elecia Knox (Virginia Madsen). An awkward exchange leads Whitney (also known as "Gunny") to learn Calvin is the ex-husband of his daughter, Alice (Lilli Cooper). The two men share something else - Lilli wants nothing to do with either of them, which becomes the start of a bond ... along with the fact they are both veterans, albeit from different eras.His career as a dependable supporting actor has provided the chance to see Curtis-Hall in this substantial role. His level-headedness and desire to re-connect with his daughter lead him to be supportive of Calvin, who really goes through some emotional stuff thanks to the VA program. Basically, the idea is to tear down the man and rebuild him so that he can control the violent urges and contribute to family and society. Calvin is also helped by his friend and old hockey coach, Clarence (Dominic Fumusa), while Calvin himself does what he can to support his friend Darryl (Matt Dallas), yet another struggling vet.Some of the banter from these men is so realistic that we assume filmmaker Grayhm used his research specifically. Gunny talks about being unappreciated on his return from Vietnam, while Calvin's multiple brain injuries are little more than entries in the VA file. It would be nice if the film's message would inspire some families and friends to reconnect with struggling veterans - those whose 'normal' doesn't feel normal. Providing hope means a great deal.Opens in limited theaters on December 17, 2025 and then wide on January 16, 2026.
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6.3/10
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