Miles Teller (Whiplash, Bleed for This) is an actor that I find myself liking more and more with each passing role. Since arriving on the scene in 2010 with memorable roles in Rabbit Hole and the well-made remake of Footloose, Teller has starred in the forgettable 21 and Over, Two Night Stand, and That Awkward Moment. Furthermore, his time has been consumed with the Veronica Roth Divergent / Insurgent / Allegiant franchise, a series that fell way short of the fantastic Hunger Games franchise as well as the lesser The Maze Runner series. Now, I’m not going to knock a guy for picking movies that are going to bring him a hefty paycheck, especially if there’s part of me that believes he’s doing it so that he can take lesser money in independent movies that can showcase his skill, evoke emotion, and that I can enjoy. Nonetheless, these three movies probably took the better part of a year and a half to make (just guessing). It’s something I think about when an actor that I really like does reoccurring roles in movies that I really don’t like. Now I’m not saying that Teller is Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence, Ryan Gosling, or Emma Stone, but still. Also, for as much love as The Spectacular Now got both with critics, I was not a fan at all. And mostly, it was because of him. As much as I’m starting to like I’m, I don’t see him as A) a leading man or B) a heartthrob. And I thought his character was a complete douche in The Spectacular Now because he was a douche. They made his character out to be this big player, and it just didn’t work for me. Now with that said, I absolutely would see this movie again. I have a different take on Teller than when The Spectacular Now came out five years ago. Of course, everyone knows about Whiplash and the incredible counter-performance he gave to J.K. Simmons, the eventual Oscar-winning Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role that year. But, he has also impressed with Bleed for This (a pretty good movie with a pretty good performance that was overshadowed by the breadth of amazing boxing movies that have been made over the years), Only the Brave and, now, Jason Hall’s (screenwriter for American Sniper) directorial debut Thank You For Your Service.

This true story follows three…well, four really…U.S. soldiers returning from the war in Iraq (in 2007) who struggle mightily with life outside of combat. The focus is primarily on their post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and their inability to integrate into civilian life. Still, it also has to do with the limited, timely services our veterans receive once they are home and the bureaucratic nightmare they have to go through to be considered to receive the help they so desperately need. Our three protagonists all served on their last mission together before returning home. A fourth member isn’t as tight as the three that story revolves around, and he also lives much further away. So I will refer to it a little less frequently. Our main character is Adam Schumann (Teller). Though there are flashbacks to the war throughout the movie, only the first scene actually takes place in Iraq. And what a scene it is. Adam (whose main goal is spotting IEDs as his driver Tausolo Aieti (Beulah Koale – CBS’s Hawaii Five-0) drives the Humvee. Also in their unit are Billy Waller (Joe Cole – Green Room, Secret In Their Eyes), Michael Emory (Scott Haze – Child of God, Midnight Special), and Sergeant James Doster (Brad Beyer – 42, television’s Jericho). One day, things go to hell after Emory gets shot in the head, and Schumann, who, in attempting to frantically carry the much larger man down a flight of stairs to get him to safety, drops his friend on his head. Emory has two inches of his brain cut out. He’ll never be able to control his body in the same way again. Schumann, haunted by guilt, is told by his senior sergeant (Sergeant Doster) that he’ll go to Schumann’s place for the mission the next day. Instead, he is killed in action, and Schumann’s survivor’s guilt is multiplied.

Back on domestic soil in his home state of Kansas, Adam is bombarded by Doster’s wife Amanda (Amy Schuerer – Trainwreck – like you’ve never seen here before), demanding that he tells her what he knows about her husband’s death even before Adam can reconnect with his own wife Saskia (Haley Bennett – The Equalizer, The Magnificent Seven), his daughter, and newborn son. But, unfortunately, he does not answer any of her questions, not because he doesn’t know the answers to her questions, but because he doesn’t know how to give them to him. Part of the magic of this movie is that we get to experience the emotions of these characters, not always through themselves but through their spouses/significant others who don’t know what to do to help their men readjust to society when they return home. This indecision and inability to know what to do are captured perfectly through Bennett, Schuerer, Keisha Castle-Hughes (who portrays Tausolo’s wife Alea), and Kerry Cahill (who portrays Billy’s girlfriend, Anna). In the case of Amanda, she just wants someone to tell her exactly what happened with her husband. And she has yet to receive the answers that she is looking for.

Thank You For Your Service is the perfect name for this movie because you don’t have to get very far into this movie to know that nothing is further from the truth. We watch on our three protagonists as they return home and have no job and no support awaiting them. For Adam, this was his third deployment. His first two went okay, but this final one will haunt him forever. He even left with just a few years before receiving a lifetime pension and status as a retired soldier. Hall focuses on Adam’s character the most. And for good reason. Adam is the first to assist his fellow soldiers back on land. He gives up his bed at a residential treatment center for combat stress. He lends his couch for another soldier to sleep on. He is a good man with a reputation for being a leader who does the right thing. It feels like a gift, watching him maneuver on screen, trying to bolster the spirits of his friends while trying to bury the demons that are threatening to bury him. He maintains a presence in front of his wife that everything is fine. But everything is not fine. Adam is a mess mentally and emotionally. Teller, on his own, takes this movie from good to great. As a viewer, you’re unable to tell from one scene to the next if everything is okay with Adam, if he’s a complete wreck, if he’s slowly getting better, or if he’s faking it. It takes talent to deceive the audience in a way like Teller does as Adam. But as the movie progresses, we know, in no uncertain terms, that he is not okay. Nor is he receiving the help he needs.

This is a sobering story behind a no-nonsense script. There is no joy in this movie. There is little redemption. This is certainly no welcoming parade for those who give their entire selves to helping to keep the world safe. Instead, our leads are met with public indifference and the insulting bureaucratic red tape of civilian life. The physical toll suffered by one of the characters is nothing compared to the debilitating psychological toll experienced by the others. Now I do not know what it is like to return from fighting in a war, nor do I understand what it feels like to have PTSD. But I do now trauma. I know that trauma never leaves you. I do understand guilt (I think we all do). And, unfortunately, I understand depression all too well. And though it is small, I can make a comparison to my own life. I have found myself in multiple situations where I needed help and was too low to get it myself. I couldn’t do the research, send an email, or dial a phone number to save my life. And I didn’t know how to ask people to help me. I was fortunate that I had people who noticed, who were there to ask questions and offer to do the legwork for me. I am so grateful for these people for finding me the help I needed, and I will never forget them. And that’s how I can relate to these protagonists. They go from a very regimented routine overseas where their entire days were probably planned out for them to life back home when they have to figure out what to do for 24 hours a day.

While Adam’s scars wait to heal, Miles Teller invests the character with heartbreaking honesty and courage, finding nobility and strength in even the most harrowing moments of revelation. His scenes with Bennett as the wife who suffers silently, wanting to help but not knowing what to do to mend his psychic wounds, are especially sensitive. In the end, we do get answers, and they might even be the answers that we are looking for. But this is far from the end of the story. As mentioned, trauma lasts forever. There are things we can do to help treat it, but it never goes away. The short time we experience with these men and their significant others is enough for us not to want to believe that their story is a true one because of how heartbreaking it is and how we need to do more for our combat veterans.

This movie hit home with me. It was not the story I was expecting.

Plot 9/10
Character Development 9/10
Character Chemistry 8/10
Acting 9/10
Screenplay 8.5/10
Directing 9/10
Cinematography 8.5/10
Sound 8.5/10
Hook and Reel 9/10
Universal Relevance 10/10
91.5%