'Repatriation': Film Review

'Repatriation': Film Review

There's been no lack of movies centering on the topic of soldiers arriving home after serving abroad. However, Douglas Mueller's play puts an intriguing twist on the familiar topic, its primary character turning out to be afflicted by something far different than post-traumatic anxiety disorder. With a terrific performance by Ryan Barton-Grimley from the lead character, Repatriation is a small indie movie worth looking for.

He promptly embarks on a pub, where at every stop he is warmly welcomed by old friends who eagerly offer to buy drinks. Chad does not diminish their generosity, responding stoically into the effusions of service that encircle him at every turn.

It ends up the bubbly woman was drawn to Chad because their high school days when he had been a star baseball player. However, if she declines his offer to carry things further once they spend some time together playing and singing pinball games, Chad, today obviously inebriated, shows a darker aspect.

"Would you know how many girls would fucking kill to be in your place today?" He hisses into Camille, who immediately flees.

Things do not get better for Chad out there because he finds that not everybody is ready to give him special favors because he is in uniform, such as a convenience store clerk that laughs in his petition to get a discount on smokes. In addition, he runs into many former acquaintances and friends that have less than joyful memories of the previous times together. The more things go south, the more darker Chad's character gets.

Director-screenwriter Mueller has difficulty extending his concept to feature length, in spite of a brief running time. The event are slow to begin, together with the story's installment lacking dramatic stress. However, Repatriation gains urgency because it moves along, and the ending packs a potent punch. Nonetheless, it's difficult not to believe that it possibly might have been effective as a brief movie.

The bleak feeling of this small-town setting is conveyed, with all the multi-purpose camerawork, editing and musical score attaining a good deal on a little budget. His increasingly upsetting character will force you to think twice prior to reflectively uttering that by-now shopworn phrase,"Thanks for your service"