Review of Max (2016) by April N — 03 Mar 2017

Max: Our responsibility for animals who suffer from PTSD.

Boaz Yakin having both written and directed Max was astonishingly able to produce a story which encapsulates issues that must be faced concerning, not only our returning military soldiers, but our K9 soldiers as well. In the US military, men, women, and service animals are trained to defend, attack, be alert, and they secondarily learn that loud banging noises could mean their impending doom. When our soldiers come back to their homes their training is still embedded in them causing them to seem paranoid, jumpy, and even dangerous. This film focuses on these remnant behaviors displayed by our service dogs and compels us to recognize that our K9 soldiers go through these same struggles and that they require just as much compassion in order to recover from the trauma of war.

We are brought into Max's story when his military trainer, Kyle Wincott played by Robbie Amell, says goodbye to his parents just before leaving for duty. Kyle tries to say goodbye to his only brother Justin, played by Josh wiggins, but Justin maintains to be withdrawn from the situation as he is repulsed that Kyle is the glorified favorite for joining the military. Shortly after, we see that Kyle is killed in battle trying to save Max after Max had been commanded to walk ahead to check for danger which turned out to be an ambush attack ahead of their troop. Max survived the ambush and defended his owners still body even when his fellow soldiers approached with admissions to render aid, but it was already too late.

As the funeral procession proceeds, Max is brought into the grand hall to honor their service together which causes the room to stir as Max wines and claws at the floor pulling towards the casket of his fallen master. The scene causes us see that Max is going through so much distress at the loss of Kyle. After the service the family is made aware that Max will have to be put down because of his aggressive behavior, and after discovering that Max be calm and obey for Justin's commands the Wilcotts couldn't let him be put to sleep. So, the Wilcotts retrieve Max and tie him up in the backyard expecting him to be fine there just like any other dog, which in reality is false.

Josh Wiggins who plays the part of Justin, pulls off an "I don't care" attitude gracefully with a poker face as his character struggles to detach himself from his older brother's dog, the military trained german shepherd, Max. We are shown a personal journey of Justin's as he grows concern towards Max in a scene where after dark, and a few hours of howling alone in the backyard Max manages to disturb the whole family awake. Miserably, Justin, being charged with responsibility for the dog, is faced with the task of making Max's noises stop which, for him, ends up being a night spent sleeping out on the lawn. This scene introduces that this service dog is experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and that just like humans need to time, love and care for healing, so do the dogs.

We also see the effects that Max's presence has on his inherited owner, Justin, as he comes out of his downer shell and takes Max along to hang out with his friends. On the way Justin tests if Max will stay or run without a leash and to his surprise Max more than stays, he stays even after Justin bikes down the road aways and doesn't come until he is called for. This helps Justin see that Max is more than just a dog and that he is a loyal friend who just needs a little help and companionship.

The movie continues to uncover both good and bad intrinsic discoveries such as Max and Justin's loyalty to family after Mr. Wilcott is kidnaped by Kyle's army buddy, Tyler, who has betrayed his country through smuggling weapons and intends to keep it a secret even though he'd been discovered. But, such action in this film only serves as "adventure packaging" to create conflict within the film and should not take away from the moral issue of the story. Which is that we are responsible for training men, women and dogs to behave the way they do in war and that we should also be responsible for their care once they return instead of just leading them into a death at home after they've just escaped a death at war. There is so much to take away from this film if one is willing to take the time to understand it.