Causeway movie review: Jennifer Lawrence revitalizes her career with Apple’s emotional drama about recovery

Acts as both a return to star roots and a career reset jennifer lawrenceburst onto the scene in 2010 with an equally muted mood piece called Winter’s Bone, but for the next decade, an increasingly forgotten franchise, seemingly trapped in David O Russell’s basement. We alternated between movies. As her height and bank balance grew, so did her role identity.

In one of her most memorable scenes in Winter’s Bone, the film that made Lawrence the youngest actress ever to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress, her teenage protagonist finds herself in the Army in a last-ditch attempt to escape her poverty-stricken existence. tried to enlist in She turned her away not only because she didn’t have her parent’s consent, but also because she had the wrong intentions. At least in the eyes of recruiters.

There is a sense that her character Lindsey in Causeway also enlisted in the Army to escape the grief of her past. It is implied that she associates the house she grew up in with the darkest period of her life. It was where she lived. No wonder she wanted to get out.

We first met her when she had just returned from Afghanistan. After suffering a traumatic brain injury in an IED attack, she speaks with startling clarity minutes later. This attack left Lindsay depressed, anxious, and unable to perform basic tasks such as brushing her teeth and going to the bathroom. But in just one montage, Lindsay made a remarkable recovery and is said to have been empowered with a measure of independence, but still enough to get the green light for the relocation she so desperately wanted. not.

Debutante director Lila Neugebauer shoots the opening scene with a stationary camera. Once Lindsey is able to walk again, it looks like her movies are getting her feet up with her. In her chance encounter, she introduces her to a mechanic named James, played by the brilliant Brian Tyree Henry. Like her Lindsay, James also struggles with her past trauma. In a few interactions that allow them to be emotionally vulnerable, the two realize they must rely on each other to heal.

Causeway is Lawrence’s very deliberate attempt to curb it after surviving a minefield of franchise filmmaking that relies more on explosions than representation. But Lawrence is even better in some of the movie’s little moments. Lawrence’s acting is full of rebellious pride, yet extremely vulnerable.

But the highlight of the film is the scene in which she inevitably fights James. Like most other scenes in the film, it’s all lit up a little beautifully. This trope is played onscreen when Lindsey and James goof around in the pool, but then quarrel when he pulls out in a huff. But as powerful as Lawrence is in this scene, it’s Henry’s near-silent performance that really stands out. James mutters much of the film, as if he’s forgotten what it’s like to talk to others. But when he lashed out at Lindsay for disrespecting him, his sharp words cut through the quiet night air.

Adult friendships are nothing like the ones we formed as children. They are filled with whitespace and conscious omissions. The backstory is revealed in carefully curated bursts over time, not dumps. No one wants to do the same dance, especially these two. There is a feeling that they have been baked before. As such, they volunteer new information about themselves only when they feel their relationship has evolved to a level where certain walls can be torn down. Lynsey and James are not only friends with each other, they are friends with us.

The causeway isn’t the most comfortable experience, but it’s rewarding in its own quiet way. For example, it’s like spending a rough night with an old best friend you’ve lost touch with.

Causeway
directed by – Lila Neugebauer
cast – Jennifer Lawrence, Brian Tyree Henry
evaluation – 4/5