Trailer Trash: Thank You For Your Service

The screenwriter of American Sniper, Jason Hall, returns to familiar territory with another adaptation of the war in the Middle East and the repercussions on the young men who fight for American freedom, based upon the book by David Finkel.

The trailer below shows us a lot of action and drama based upon the soldiers returning to civilian life with great difficulty, following the four men who sit in an armoured vehicle and the one incident that bond them together, for the majority we follow Miles Teller's character as he returns to a young wife and two young daughters in a new home, yet the nightmares and post-traumatic stress start to surface putting a burden on relationships and behaviour.

Teller has been a polarising actor of recent years, yet his work in Whiplash and Bleed For This has garnered substantial attention. His resemblance to a young Dustin Hoffman and the calibre of work marks him out as a talent; however, for this reviewer I worry about his ability to connect to audiences due to his blank expression in performance as if he does not want the mask to slip.  However, judging by the trailer alone, his style of acting is suitable to a troubled man struggling to engage with normality after performing so heroically for his country.

Haley Bennett (The Girl on the Train) plays his wife in a role not dissimilar to Sienna Miller's role in American Sniper; and that is the worry perhaps that the film is too close and too soon to that film's release to garner the same attention, nor does it have the heavyweight punch of Clint Eastwood directing and Bradley Cooper leading.

The trailer though is a good trailer that shows significant moments without giving away everything because this film is based around performance and characterisation; whereas American Sniper as a film had to contend with the inevitability of Pine's death, here the trailer leaves the door open for any eventuality.

Enthused with emotion by Rag n Bone Man's 'Human' the trailer ticks several boxes to garner your attention. Thank you for your reading.

Thank You For Your Service is released later in the year by Entertainment One UK

Thoughts on Whiplash

Trying to catch up on the films you have missed can be stopped by many roadblocks. You may have work commitments, family problems, health issues. Or you might just not have enough hours in the day to watch everything you would like to. Or you might not have a DVD player. Thankfully I have an amazing girlfriend who purchased a new device and the first film she purchased was the Oscar winning film, Whiplash.

We proceeded to watch it late on a Tuesday night, knowing we wouldn't be up early and that the film was a tight 90 minute running time.

Whiplash tells the combative relationship between a young drum student, Andrew (Miles Teller) and his volatile teacher Fletcher (Oscar winner J. K. Simmons). Unlike other mentor and pupil films, the mentor and pupil meet from the outset, and the pupils aim to please he mentor is at the forefront throughout, even at the behest of the pupils writer father played by Paul Reiser.

Simmons' portrayal of Fletcher as this abrupt and bullying figure is the voice of the film, the way he bewitches his students into motivation for performance is paramount. Yet for all the grandiose of Simmons' role, a lot has to be said for Teller's role as Andrew.

Teller has a strange face, one that looks older than the age he is meant to be playing. Yet it looks like a face that has lived, one that can be calm and reflective in one scene, yet highly expressive and emotive in another such as when he gets passed up by another drummer; his impassioned face says it all. The strain he puts on himself to learn the pieces going to physical extremes is painful to watch.

You get the impression that Fletcher will never be pleased with any performance by his band, and the constant referrals to Charlie Parker and the legend of Bird is a little bit telegraphed somewhat by Damien Chazelle's screenplay. Yet in this day and age of seen it all before film, it is nice to see a film that is positive about the human spirit and capability it can achieve, and an alteration on a familiar movie sub-genre.

The ending has been much discussed as to what it means for both characters, is Fletcher pleased or not? For this reviewer it showed that anyone can wave their hand up there and conduct, it takes special musicians to play like Andrew does in the finale. In that sense, Andrew is reminiscent of Moira Shearer in The Red Shoes, sacrificing body and soul for the glory.