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Every year, countless veterans return home from service to face a new conflict: adjusting back to civilian life. Some of them return injured, while others return with wounds that can’t be seen—like the men who inspired the after-war drama Thank You for Your Service.
Thank You for Your Service follows the stories of three real-life soldiers as they return home after serving in Iraq. Adam (Miles Teller) decides to call it quits after his third—and most difficult—tour to stay home with his wife and two children, but he’s haunted by memories of the war. Solo (Beulah Koale) wants nothing more than to reenlist, but he’s suffering from injuries and memory loss. And Will (Joe Cole) eagerly returns home, only to find that his fiancée isn’t there waiting for him. And as the days pass, they struggle to fit back into civilian life.
From the brutal opening scene of Thank You for Your Service, it’s clear that this isn’t going to be a fluffy, feel-good kind of movie. It’s not a movie that sugarcoats the story. The transition from military life to civilian life would be difficult enough during times of peace—but during their time in Iraq, these men spent every day on high alert, never knowing whether there was a bomb hidden in some trash along the road or an ambush around the next corner. They fought side by side, and they held their friends as they died. And though the film focuses on their time after the war, it still offers brief but memorable glimpses of the wartime memories that they carry home with them.
Life at home, then, is another battle. They can’t simply put their experiences in the past and move on. Each character shows the disconnect in a different way: Will’s loneliness and desperation, Solo’s anxiety over lost memories, and Adam’s overwhelming feelings of guilt. They suffer in silence—each in his own way. And while their silence doesn’t make for the kind of film that will have audiences in tears from beginning to end, it’s still difficult to watch. It’s heartbreaking to witness their struggle—and to see that, even when they decide to seek help, they’re put on a lengthy waiting list.
These are characters that audiences will care about: strong, honorable, loyal men who have been trained never to show weakness. Women who sacrifice in different ways: caring for families while their husbands are away and caring for their husbands when they return. The performances are generally restrained, but they make their point.
Thank You for Your Service is a memorable film about the battles that veterans face at home—and the wounds and scars that go far beyond skin-deep. It’s not the kind of movie that you’ll want to watch on a low-key Friday night, but it’s certainly an eye-opening experience.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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