6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A look at how Post Traumatic Stress Disorder affects American servicemen and women returning home from war.
Starring: Miles Teller, Beulah Koale, Joe Cole (VII), Scott Haze, Haley BennettBiography | 100% |
War | 12% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Washington Post Journalist David Finkel wrote the nonfiction book on which Thank You For Your Service is based. The film, from first-time Director Jason Hall (writer, American Sniper), follows the lives of several service members, recently returned home from the war in Iraq, who find themselves fighting for survival on a new battlefield, one where guns and bombs are not the enemy. Rather, they battle their own psychological breakdowns, fear of failure and admitting the problem, and bureaucratic red tape. War films of recent times have certainly shied away from the glorification of war championed by the pictures of yore, favoring a grittier, more realistic and challenging view of conflict, both the difficult physical challenges and the dangerous emotional responses. Thank You For your Service takes the War film to its next stopping point, depicting servicemen who look for safety, security, and freedom from their pasts in a world where they have only themselves, one another, and if they're lucky, a loving spouse and an appointment with a professional well on down the line to care for them.
Coming home...but to what?
Thank You for Your Service was digitally photographed, which for a higher end production these days isn't necessarily going to translate into a flat, glossy picture. On the contrary, the film boasts a fairly impressive visual surface, with abundant and well defined textures to be found in complex facial features (pores, freckles), clothes, and the heavy gear worn over in Iraq. Image complexity of terrain and environments deliver equally pleasing results, save for a few shots where smeared edges interrupt the visual flow. Colors are largely healthy and robust, with the earthy Iraq shades giving way to a more stable, pleasingly neutral palette stateside with only a mild sense of appearing washed out. Black levels hold impressively deep with only some intrusive noise standing in the way of some of the more intensively dark shots and perfection. A few blink-and-miss traces of aliasing are evident here and there; one of the most prominent can be seen on a bag at the 43:52 mark. On the whole, though, this is a strong new release from Universal.
Thank You for Your Service features a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack. The film is predominantly talk-heavy, frequently exploring painfully intimate exchanges between characters, and dialogue clarity impresses for the duration. Several more intensive effects do break up the track, however. Zipping race cars move about the front and wrap around the back in chapter three, featuring not only seamless stage traversal but a positive depth to match; critical dialogue remains well prioritized and enveloping through the throaty content playing against it. Deep train whistles and a few gunshots later in the film during a key scene offer firm, crisp delivery into the stage. Environmental support details, whether light exterior elements or bustling sounds inside a packed VA waiting room, help draw the listener into a few of the film's key locations.
Thank You for Your Service contains two featurettes. DVD and digital versions are included with purchase.
Thank You for Your Service is heartfelt and heartbreaking look at post-traumatic stress disorder. It's a raw and honest film, a difficult film, and impossible to forget. Top-notch performances not only define the characters, but honor and speak for all those afflicted. Universal's Blu-ray is excellent, boasting top-tier video, solid lossless audio, and a couple of good featurettes. Highly recommended.
2018
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