Thank You for Your Service (2017)

Directed by: Jason Hall | 109 minutes | biography, drama, war | Actors: Miles Teller, Joe Cole, Beulah Koale, Haley Bennett, Amy Schumer, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Kate Lyn Sheil, Kerry Cahill, Erin Darke, Scott Haze, Brad Beyer, Omar J. Dorsey, Allison King, Hunter Burke

Journalist David Finkel of The Washington Post joined the US military, more precisely the 2-16 Infantry Battalion, in the years 2007 and 2008, to cover the events in Iraq on the ground. What he saw and experienced there, he incorporated into his book ‘The Good Soldier’, in which he focused on Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Kauzlarich and how he experienced being in the middle of the reality of war and having to lose armed forces. Because there is always a time after the battle, Finkel decided to continue to follow the soldiers of the 2-16 Infantry Battalion, even after their mission was over. Because what does a war do to you and how does that affect you when you return to peaceful western society? Can you just pick up the thread? What role does the post-traumatic stress syndrome that affects so many (former) soldiers play? These findings also resulted in a book with the cynical title ‘Thank You For Your Service’. Because the image that veterans in the US are treated as heroes seems to have long since become outdated. In fact, these days you’d better stay under the radar a bit, otherwise you’ll be looked at with the neck.

‘Thank You For Your Service’ was made into a movie in 2017 by Jason Hall, the man who wrote the screenplay for Clint Eastwood’s rather overly American patriotism-infused ‘American Sniper’ (2014). But fear not: ‘Thank You For Your Service’ – Hall’s directorial debut – takes a more subtle approach. That title may indeed be read as cynically as we are inclined to do on this side of the ocean. Miles Teller (‘Whiplash’, 2014) plays Adam Schumann, a sergeant with an impressive track record who returns to his hometown of Kansas after a 15-month stint in Baghdad. That he has been through quite a bit in Iraq, he jealously keeps a secret from his wife Saskia (Haley Bennett) and two small children. Adam’s maids Solo Aeti (Beulah Koale) and Bill Waller (Joe Cole) have significantly more trouble keeping up appearances. Solo would like to return to Iraq immediately, but suffers from serious brain damage and is therefore rejected. The already unstable Bill’s world collapses when he returns home to discover that his fiancée has packed her bags. Adam struggles especially with a agonizing question of guilt: why did he drop heavily wounded Private Emory (Scott Haze) on his head (he survived the attack, but is now half-paralyzed) and why did he let First Class Sergeant James Doster (Brad Beyer) take his place in the patrol (Doster would die that day due to the army vehicle being ambushed)?

American soldiers who fought for their country are kindly thanked for their service and commitment. After that, however, they fall into a black hole of bureaucratic red tape. Mental help is scarce and months pass before you finally come for an interview, let alone an admission to a clinic where you can work on the post-traumatic stress syndrome you contracted during the war. Because the fact is that the vast majority of former soldiers have a great need for conversations with psychologists. How can you pick up the thread of normal life again when you have witnessed so much death and destruction up close, seen service mates get seriously injured or even die and then continue to ask the question: why did I survive that damn war and they not? Jason Hall’s film is a (mild) pamphlet against the bizarre injustice done to veterans and stands out because of the excellent acting of the still young cast. We already had our sights on Miles Teller after ‘Whiplash’ and here underlines his potential as an actor who can carry a film. Beulah Koale, originally a New Zealander with Maori roots, also stands out. Where the scenario and the storyline around his character eventually go wrong, Kaole, with an impressive physical endowment, remains firmly on his feet. And where Teller’s character personifies common sense, Koale’s is the unruly emotional heart.

What we can especially praise Jason Hall for is his guts. There are plenty of movies about post-traumatic stress. Filmmakers soon reach for the grand gesture to make their point. Hall dares to keep it small (except for that superfluous subplot around Solo) and to rely on his actors. He also dares to cast Amy Schumer, who we mainly know as an exuberant comedian, in the sober role of the widow of James Doster, who hopes to get an answer from Adam Schumann to the question of what happened to her husband. A small but crucial role, because Adam only dares to speak to her when he admits that he is struggling with that question of guilt. For him, that is the first step in processing. ‘Thank You For Your Service’ is a raw, honest film that aptly describes what it must be like to be left to your own devices as a former soldier in the US. With his directorial debut certainly not without merit, Jason Hall once again emphasizes: You can take people out of war, but you can’t take the war out of people.