EUyeshima Review of Causeway

Causeway (2022)

Lawrence & Henry Deliver the Goods in a Powerful Rehabilitation Drama

[9/10 · 7 January 2023]

I've almost forgotten what a subtle, enveloping actress Jennifer Lawrence can be since she first achieved mega-success in "The Hunger Games". However, before that, she did finely etched character work in smaller films like "Winter's Bone" and "The Burning Plain". She's back to form as Lynsey, a soldier trying to adjust to life at home in New Orleans after suffering a traumatic brain injury in Afghanistan. First-time director Lila Neugebauer applies her extensive stage background to this character-driven 2022 movie and pulls out masterful performances from her small cast. Brian Tyree Henry is a revelation as James, an auto mechanic who finds a true soul connection with Lynsey while undergoing his own heartbreaking trauma. The rest of the cast delivers beautifully in small turns - Jayne Houdyshell as the veteran caretaker, Stephen McKinley Henderson as the observant doctor, Linda Emond as Lynsey's alcoholic mother, and in the film's most heartbreaking scene, Russell Harvard as her drug-addled brother. At 92 minutes, this is also the rare recent movie I wished would've run longer.