'Causeway' Review: Jennifer Lawrence gives a soul-stirring performance in a somber movie about pain and trauma
After letting viewers know about the challenges of climate change, Jennifer Lawrence is back with something that feels more personal and is still considered to be taboo in several parts of the world. Lawrence's latest flick, titled 'Causeway', talks about how anxiety and PTSD can make life a living hell for people who experience them. The movie chronicles the journey of Lynsey (Jennifer Lawrence), a war veteran, who has just returned home after a tragic accident. She was working in Afghanistan and an IED blast near her vehicle gave her a brain injury.
The injury changed her completely and she started suffering from PTSD. She is sent back to her childhood home to stay with her mother to heal. As the movie progresses, we get to know that what happened in Afghanistan isn't the only thing that she is healing from. Her journey of healing starts with finding a job and doing something to keep her mind off of other things. In her journey, she finds a friend named James (Brian Tyree Henry), who is as broken as she is but still manages to live his life with an open heart. As soon as they meet each other, they instantly know that they are going to be good friends.
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What we see next is a story of healing through care, love, and most importantly, the willingness to go out and achieve everything, again. The best aspect about the movie is that viewers don't need to go to flashbacks to learn what happened with Lynsey in Afghanistan, it's all about dealing with the after-effects and how she's doing everything she can to get through all the pain and trauma. Even though that traumatic moment is not shown in the movie, there are a lot of moments where you'll feel how dangerous it would have been for her to see her colleagues die in front of her. Through her emotions, we see how pain and trauma kick in when you are vulnerable the most.
The movie felt like something that a lot of people, including me, have gone through in their lives. Not the war part, but the pain and trauma of experiencing something that changes your life completely. You are always in a dilemma and think of doing things and then just cancel them because the anxiety is making you feel unsure about yourself. 'Causeway' is a good reminder that there's a way people can heal and it might take a little while to reach there, but that day will undoubtedly come.
Jennifer Lawrence, once again, shows why she is one of the best actresses of this generation. She is exceptional in the dramatic sequences and her dry humor makes the performance even more extraordinary. However, if you are hoping to get a soul-stirring monologue from JLaw, then you'd be a bit disappointed. Her entire character is soul-stirring and somber and whenever she tries to do anything, you can feel her sadness in them. Lawrence's performance is as good as it can get. On the other hand, Brian Tyree Henry is as convincing as Lawrence. His scenes make every belief that he is as lost as Lynsey. He is really extraordinary.
'Causeway' marks the directorial debut of Lila Neugebauer and she has knocked the ball out of the park with a movie that talks about that part of life that's not really explainable because only the person, who is experiencing these thoughts, can talk about the pain that they went through over the years. Of course, it is not flawless, but it's more than just a movie, it's an experience and a lot of people will understand that when they get to see the movie.
It is a moving portrait of pain and healing that certainly requires a watch.