Review of Man Down (2016) by Frank L — 30 Nov 2016

*** This review may contain spoilers ***.

Dito Montiel's Man Down is brilliant but definitely not your father's war story and certainly not for the faint of heart. The movie employs a novel and deliberately jarring plot structure coupled with the captivating performance of its principal actor, Shia LaBeouf, to provide viewers with a unique glimpse into the mind of a man who suffers from a 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. To do this, the film focuses on the broken mind of former marine Gabriel Drummer, played convincingly by Shia LaBeouf. 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, shattered state.

Other characters, including Drummer's psychologist Peyton (Gary Oldman), wife Natalie (Kata Mara), best friend Devon (Jai Courtney), and son Jonathan (Charlie Shotwell) are both part of the backstory giving rise to Drummer's condition and the unfortunate objects of that condition, but their development is clearly ancillary to Drummer's plight, and deliberately so, as the cast performs their supporting roles with delicate precision to keep the focus on Drummer. That is because Man Down is remarkably loyal to its most important 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 purpose of the film's fragmented structure becomes clear. 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: shock and compassion. While for some the revealed purported causes of Drummer's condition may be too unsettling, abhorrent, taboo, or insufficient for viewers to stomach, 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.

The film couples its big reveals at the end with a montage of LaBeouf at his best that abruptly moves toward Drummer's current devastation. This device serves Man Down's object effectively, leaving the viewer with the reality that the onset of mental illness can be sudden, inexplicable, and almost dreamlike, especially in hindsight.

In the end, Man Down is not out to make friends, or make audiences happy. 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 unfortunately rather than a more worthy recipient like the beleaguered VA (note Gary Oldman's unassuming portrayal of a passive and ineffectual military psychologist who never even bothers to step out from behind his desk). 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, perhaps to shock audiences into action. For that reason, Man Down should be lauded as a novel and successful departure from traditional storytelling.