Friday, February 17, 2017

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

This is an extraordinary film in many ways, but, in others, it falls down. The depiction of combat PTSD is outstanding. The film's writers, one of whom penned the book this was based on, clearly know their subject well. However, the movie gets bogged down in overly broad characters, treatises about war, and questions about the nature of honor. Ang Lee's direction was lovely, but I have to admit it got overly floral in places. The pace was slow, but that I appreciated, save when it dived a bit too long into "why are we over there" questions. The acting was also quite good, especially from a largely unknown young cast. Overall, it was the very candid depiction of PTSD that won me over. I did enjoy this film, flaws and all. 3.5/5

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk on Netflix

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