Causeway

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source: Causeway

Causeway is a decent drama backed by great performances from Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry. Lila Neugebauer's debut feature is a quiet moving drama which slowly shows a soldiers recovery from a brain injury. Jennifer Lawrence wisely chooses a smaller production here, taking a break from big budget affair like Hunger Games & especially X-Men (The X-Men series ended up a noose round Lawrence's neck after the great First Class & Days Of Future Past). Brian Tyree Henry continues his rise here and does well in a more serious role than usually expected from him. After Bullet Train, he's had a fairly successful year. Hopefully Jennifer Lawrence will stick to more independent efforts like this and Winter's Bone as that's where her talents are definitely more suited.

What I like about this movie, aside from Jennifer Lawrence giving a really beautifully natural performance, as well as a primo performance by Brian Tyree Henry, is the reality of life. I won't talk about the main plot, the story itself since that would spoil it, but I will say that the portrayal of the mundane, day-to-day life, which let's face it can be pretty slow, yet fruitful (ask anyone growing up before technology) and the dialogue between the two is normal, natural, as they become friends and deal with their personal situations. I enjoyed this slice of life movie more than I expected to.

"Like they let you down instead of the other way around." This movie starts with a static lingering picture of a girl down on her luck, being wheeled into a car to live with a caregiver. She seems innocuous enough progressing through her recovery, but we begin to realize that her misfortune seems to have been handed down by the cosmos to put her in her place. We see a polite facade hiding her true self rife in condescension and superiority. In the end, the movie tries to give us a satisfying sense of redemption, but it feels too abrupt and just falls flat. Really this is a mere vehicle to showcase Jennifer Lawrence's impressive acting chops. If she does get nominated, she deserves it. However the revelation here is Brian Tyree Henry who plays James. His heartfelt performance is so convincing to the point that I don't think he is acting. Then I realize this is the same actor in "Bullet Train" playing an assassin with a British accent. I thought he was truly British as I watched that movie! Thanks to "Causeway," I am now familiar with his work, as he has received many accolades in TV, film, and Broadway, including his Tony award. If there is anyone to nominate out of this movie, it should be Brian Tyree Henry.

I am a fan of both Lawrence and Henry .... but this was like watching paint dry. Good performances by both given the script and stunning lack of ANYTHING actually happening. I realise this was a character study of two people facing trauma in their own way, while becoming friends ...... but sheesh it was all shades of deadly dullness. I actually turned it off, not something I would normally do. I did not care enough to find out what happened to either of the main characters. I felt no connection to them at all, I simply did not care. Doing my dishes had greater appeal ... lmao!! I hope that this is not the last that we see of JLaw. I normally love her work.

Best part was the performance of Atlantas Paper Boi, Brian Tyree Henry. As usual he nails every part he plays. He is an exceptional actor and I am thrilled to see him getting more roles. This is his time. Unlike, Jennifer Lawrence, whose time came and quickly passed. She is trying too hard to come back grabbing onto anything she can. It was painful because of her in one of the leading roles. Slow, a downer, though some may relate to the role of James played by Brian. No spoilers here but be warned to pass if you're not a fan of JL. Just wanted to support Paper Boi. Would be nice to see his face on all the advertising being pushed by Apple- not sure why it's only the female actor whose career is not on the rise as Henry's is. That's confusing to me. They act like only one person is in this film. Do better Apple.

What starts as a moving story about trauma slowly develops into a exploration of friendship that isn't all that fun.. Not that every movie needs to have fun to be compelling. Nor does it need to be fast paced, in fact, this type of story benefits from a bare bones approach. The two main actors do their finest but the script is .... thin. There is little explication and characterization through behavior, what we get is a series of dialogues that explain away the number one rule: show, don't tell. Or rather, these characters NOT telling seems to be used to try and create depth. The cinematography is fine, nothing to go crazy over. The strengths here really are Lawrence and Henry who add much needed levity to the writing. I left this movie feeling like I understand very little about these characters or what they actually want.

WOW, that really disappointed. It's clear that people were moved by the acting but the story was completely absent. What were the writers trying to convey. Was the theme; "Life sucks and you living it will only make it worse?" We were 20 minutes into the movie wondering when it was going to start. It never did. Excruciatingly slow and boring, ending up nowhere. Nothing changed and we were sitting there wondering what was the point? The whole movie is in the two minute trailer. So spare yourself the hour and a half run time. Honestly don't know what other folks we're watching. Glad they enjoyed it.