Man Down

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At the time of me submitting this review, the IMDb rating is at 5.8 out of 10. I totally disagree with this assessment, though I understand that this rating are the opinions of a personal nature, just as mine are. Shia LaBeouf gives an Oscar worthy performance IMO. This movie is a definite action, thriller, and drama. It takes a deep dive into PTSD, and shows how it affects not only the soldier, but those close to him. I loved the cast of characters; very raw and passionate performances given by everyone, including the son, and the story line was amazing. I'm definitely a hard critic when it comes to films. I would definitely place this one in the top 10 movies so far this year!

This is the best film of the year hands down. The script is clever, the acting is marvelous, the topic is poignant, the editing is perfect, and the photography and music are well done. Pay no attention to the advertisements for the film. They are accurate to a point, like saying "Rocky" is about a fighter or "The Wild Bunch" is a western. In truth, the film is about family and what it takes to create, support, and nurture a family. Special mention must be made of Shia LeBeouf's performance. Personally I'm not a fan, but his acting in this film is top quality, and he gets excellent support from Jai Courtney and Kate Mara. Gary Oldman is in the film briefly, but his scenes are vital. Tony Kittles does a great job as the training Sergeant. Do yourself a favor and see this film.

Couldn't figure out what was going on at first -- and knew nothing about it going in. it was a puzzle, but not in a frustrating way. Turns our there are three intersecting time lines...(past, present and future)...don't want to spoil it but suffice it to say, this is a film that has to be experienced. Like his character says in the film: "You don't discuss it." (BTW --there were a fair number of Shia-haters at the screening that just wanted to trash him. But how could they? This is Shia at his best -- the best I've seen him anyway. And I loved FURY.) Story/theme is basically...the war is coming home. Shia's a Marine. Jai Courtney plays his best friend. Jai is good, but the boy that plays Shia's son steals the show. Really like Kate Mara in this as well. I have not seen other Dito Montiel movies but he has apparently worked with Shia before. Anyway, a film that makes you think (Memento/Inception). Will be interesting to see how an American audience will respond. I was fortunate enough to see it in Venice at the festival. Subtitles were distracting but audience seemed to track with it. Some loved it. Some hated it. I loved it. 10 out of 10!

I didn't understand why I saw many fan reviews stating they were bored or lost or found it uncompelling. Some stated they couldn't tell what was what. It was all very well laid out to me. I had no trouble following the story and my instincts were rewarded in the end. I'm not a 'fan' of LeBeouf but I knew he would bring a deep well of emotions to the role. He didn't fail. He's reached a new level and I'm glad to see it. The story was concise, demanded you paid attention as there were clues laid out and overall, given the subject matter, done about as well as one could do to get the viewer 'in' the story right away. I highly recommend this film.

For me, this was all about the experience. I just saw this tonight at the Toronto International Film Festival (with Shia LaBeouf and Kate Mara in the audience), in the lovely Roy Thomson Hall, and had absolutely no expectations going in. The premise sounded interesting (a marine returns from the Afghanistan war to post-apocalyptic America in search of his wife and son) , but in all honesty Shia was a bit of a red flag. The movie's I've seen him in have either been "meh" or not that good, and he usually gave mediocre performances in all of them. Plus, is he not crazy? Like, actually insane? Very sporadic dude to say the least. After seeing this, I can confidently say I've never had my expectations shattered so hard before. This absolutely blew me out of the water in every way. The directing was brilliant, the supporting cast was spot on, but the real stars are screenwriter Adam Simon for coming up with such a unique and passionate idea, and Shia himself. This dude broke out of the image I had for him and gave a performance of a lifetime. It would be an absolute shame if it's not recognized in some way or another (whether that be awards or just general praise). Now before you go see this, let me tell you that it really does take a while to get going. You may have mixed feelings at the beginning, and even partway into the middle, but once the credits roll and you leave the theatre, the experience you had will be unlike any other. To conclude, I want to touch on experience again. Part of what made this so good for me was the experience (TIFF, watching it with Shia himself) but also the low expectations. In a way, a review takes away from the expectations. If you read this before watching Man Down, I only want you to take one thing away: it was good. That's it. Ignore all the praise I've just given it. It was good. It was good.

I must say, I tend to really like films that Le Bouf plays in. He has a knack for picking good films, he just really does. As much as you might hate him personally, he knows a good story when he sees one. This film I had heard very little about, I knew it had something to do with war, but not much else. Seems it is highly underrated. I'm not even sure if it had a theatrical release or not. When the film opened I was pretty skeptical. It seemed boring as all hell. Slow moving. Not very interesting. Military guy, yadda yadda. The opening was tinted with confusing "flashback" type scenes, boring paranorama or desolated wasteland that wasn't explained and other apocalyptic type scenes that didn't seem to fit into the rest of the movie. I kind of started losing interest and was barely paying attention, when all of a sudden... The movie took a crazy turn, and I realized what was really going on, and why everything seemed confusing and off with the timing. It all came together, and I was sincerely impressed. The music is a little over the top and too sentimental at a lot of parts, but the story is very well written. You just don't realize it at first how brilliant it is. 7/10 because the first part was so confusing and I felt a lot of the music was bad and just distracted from what was happening.

source: Man Down

50 million Elvis fans can be wrong. They are in fact wrong. And so are the movie critics who have weighed in on Dito Montiel's Man Down. The film uniquely provides viewers a glimpse—albeit uncomfortable and painful—into the mind of one who suffers from the mental illness that plagues so many of our veterans. Bypassing the film's details, the transparent goal of Man Down is to have the viewer experience the effects of mental illness and suffering in real time and walk away with a newfound or increased sense of compassion. Thus,the movie unfolds in fragments and non-linearly. Backstory details of Drummer's experience before, during, and after his stint in Afghanistan are revealed disjointedly, confusedly, and painfully, just as they are revealed to Drummer in his current, broken state. But that backstory and the other characters (all of which are clearly allegorical, such as Gary Oldman's unassuming portrayal of a passive and ineffectual military psychologist who never even stands up from behind his desk) are all secondary to Drummer's mind. Although they are the purported causes and unfortunate objects of Drummer's current illness, they are also ultimately ancillary, fungible, and perhaps irrelevant to Drummer's current state, and deliberately so as the cast each performs their understated roles with precision. That is because Man Down is remarkably loyal to its one object: Drummer's suffering. It is this loyalty that betrays traditional story-telling and is perhaps what is both most offensive and terrific about the film. With Man Down's object in mind, the viewer recognizes two aspects of the film that have been unjustifiably criticized. First is the film's structure. While critics acknowledge that the movie is intended to convey Drummer's point of view in his disconnected mental state, in the same breath, they ironically protest the fragmented nature of Dito Montiel's storytelling. That criticism clearly misses the mark. Because the movie's purpose is to have the viewer experience Drummer's world as he experiences it and to unravel the ostensible causes of his current condition at the same time they are revealed to him in fragmented fashion, the non-linear and disjointed plot structure are absolutely necessary to achieving Montiel and LaBeouf's ultimate goal: compassion. Although viewers have expressed dissatisfaction in the purported causes of Drummer's condition for various reasons—some have complained they are too abhorrent, some say they are taboo, and others object to them as insufficient justification—they are commonly cited causes of mental illness, and most importantly, they are the events to which Drummer's tortured mind clings unceasingly and replays constantly and are, therefore, sufficient to instill both shock and compassion in the viewer. The second unfounded criticism is the parroted gripe that the film crescendos too abruptly at the end toward Drummer's current mental state. That criticism again misses the point of the movie. Man Down's montage at the end serves its object perfectly. If anyone has suffered from or has witnessed a loved one suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, she understands that the onset of an episode can be sudden and jarring, and almost dreamlike, especially in hindsight. Such is the effect of Man Down's montage, which LaBeouf musters convincingly. In the end, Man Down is not out to make friends. Indeed, it leaves the viewer saddened, horrified, perhaps offended (no matter one's political affiliation), and looking to cast blame, which to date has largely been directed at Montiel, rather than a more worthy recipient like the beleaguered VA. As the movie makes clear: America has a problem, and we need to deal with it. Man Down leaves the viewer as shell shocked as its tragic antihero, which is clearly what it set out to accomplish. For that reason, Man Down should be lauded as a novel and successful departure from traditional storytelling.

I was in the marine corps and even being annoyed with slightest of military inaccuracies I must say this was a good movie. It does not have a happy ending and will not make you feel good but I think it's a good movie. I am usually skeptic and stick to reviews but I'm glad I ignored the reviews on this one. Give it a chance and try not to have expectations and I think you will see it as a good film.