Jeri Jacquin
In theaters this Friday from director Gabriela Cowperthwaite
and Bleeker Street Media is a compelling story that needs to be seen because of
MEGAN LEAVEY.
Megan (Kate Mara) is a young woman staggering through life.
Unhappy with her job and unhappy living at home with mom Jackie (Edie Falco)
and her boyfriend Jim (Will Patton), it seems the days just blur.
That is until she makes the decision to hop a bus and join
the U.S. Marine Corps. It didn’t take long until Megan was in trouble within
the Corps as well that has her cleaning the kennels of the K9 unit.
There she meets Rex, a four legged anti-social dog who gives
trainers a difficult time. Megan continues to ask Gunny Martin (Common) to
become part of the K9 unit. When a situation presents itself, Megan and Rex are
paired together and so begins a training of each other to become a strong unit
through patience and friendship.
Sent to Camp Ramadi in Iraq , Megan and Rex are sent on
missions to sniff out IED’s clearing the way for soldiers and the Iraqi people.
She also meets Matt Morales (Ramon Rodriguez) who is also part of the K9 unit
and starts to become comfortable being part of a team.
Then a mission puts both of their lives in danger changing
the path for them both. Megan knows that she can not continue on her path
without Rex and with dad Bob’s (Bradley Whitford) push, she is will get Rex
back at her side and will do anything to make that happen.
In that is the true meaning of friendship!
Mara as Megan portrays a young woman who clearly has
problems dealing with home and family. Making a swift move to join the
military, Mara’s character puts up serious walls until she creates an
unbreakable bond with Rex. What is amazing is that feeling this connection and
watching the story unfold between Megan and Rex; it is not surprising that they
would work together so brilliantly. Mara and Rex are lovely in this film and
the audience fell in love with them both.
Common as Gunny Martin is a man who clearly doesn’t take any
guff from anyone – including a pint size Megan Leavey. Testing her potential
and patiently watching to see if her dedication to the K9 unit is solid, he
gives us both the tough Gunny as well as a man who understands the hurt of
battle.
Rodriguez as Morales is a wise cracking but dedicated part
of the K9 unit in Iraq .
He manages to bring down some of Megan’s emotional walls but it can take the
snap of fingers to bring them back up. Patton as Jim is not someone Megan is
thrilled to have around and this is a small role.
Whitford as Megan’s father Bob is a man who realizes that
choices he made in his life have affected his daughter. Wanting to reach out
and help her, he just isn’t sure how to do it or if it would make a difference.
This is a different role for Whitford and he delivers with a lovely scene when
Megan returns from Iraq .
Falco as Jackie is – well – Falco. She is an over dramatic
and wildly awesome to watch as Megan’s mother. Big or small, Falco brings her
best to every role she does and always manages to surprise me.
Other cast include Geraldine James as Dr. Turbeville,
Shannon Tarbet as Barb, Miguel Gomez as Gomez, Jonathan Howard as Peter
Walters, George Webster as Finn, Corey Johnson as Master Sergeant and Tom Felton
as Andrew Dean.
TUBS OF POPCORN: I give MEGAN LEAVEY four and a half tubs of
popcorn out of five. It is be very easy to call this a feel good film but that
would be an injustice to the story being told. There are so many issues that
are handled in this story with straight forwardness, no sugar-coating and
boldly done.
It is the story of a young woman dealing with the situation
her life is in and knowing at some point something had to give. Joining the
Marine Corps gives Megan the opportunity to become part of something bigger
than herself and not just fighting in a war but becoming responsible for Rex
and the lives of everyone around her. Mara takes this role and lets us all
experience the journey of this young woman until the end where we come to understand
more than we ever could.
Director Cowperthwaite says of her film, “There are so many
important story threads, what about the political commentary about the war one
could make or about a ton of things regarding women Marines and dealing with
their situations…and to focus on this world from Megan’s perspective. You have
to hone in on that relationship and how that bond gets built because that is
really what the story is – loyalty and friendship.”
In regards to PTSD and returning troops she says, “Dealing
with PTSD when our military come home and how we can maybe look at it
different, pay attention and be better listeners I think that would be a great
thing.”
MEGAN LEAVEY is a story that is well done dealing with
issues that might be uncomfortable for some to see but necessary to experience.
This film speaks on love, understanding, patience and a friendship that saved
not only the lives of others – but of one another as well.
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