Thank You for Your Service

Three soldiers back from Iraq try to fold themselves into civilian life. One comes home to a house that has been emptied, one has lost his memory and his balance, and one holds himself responsible for a friend's death. All three end up in the queue at Veterans Affairs. The film is not interested in combat. It is interested in the bureaucracy after it: the treatment these men need exists, but the appointment is months away, and their lives come apart in the gap. Its hardest point is that the system is not malicious, only slow. The form is everyday and unshowy. The war appears in short flashbacks; the film mostly takes place at a kitchen table and in a waiting room. The source is David Finkel's book of the same name. Jason Hall, who wrote and directed, had previously written American Sniper; this is his first film as director. Miles Teller leads, with Haley Bennett and Joe Cole in the cast. Who it is for: viewers who follow narratives of post-war trauma and American social drama. Who it is not for: anyone expecting action. The film is deliberately slow and refuses to offer hope.