I didn’t know what to expect from “Man Down.” The only prior knowledge I had of the film was a television spot playing in a bar last weekend. The only glimpse of the spot I caught featured a soldier in the heat of battle, followed by the title card. My only assumption was of a run-of-the-mill war film, possibly of the hollow jingoistic variety deconstructed in “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.” While the film plays out as such at times (more the former than the latter), it’s got a lot more going on underneath the surface that I didn’t see coming.
The initial approach is that of the run-of-the-mill kind. Gabriel Drummer (Shia LaBeouf) is a caring husband to Natalie (Kate Mara) and loving father to Johnathan (Charlie Shotwell) soon to be shipped off to Afghanistan. He strikes up a budding friendship with Devin Roberts (Jai Courtney), a fellow Marine who goes through the most stereotypical of training sequences with him. They’re pushed to their very limits, abused both verbally and mentally, toughening them up for battle. As Gabriel prepares to be shipped out (Devin stays behind due to an arm injury), he engages in the most vanilla of arguments with his wife. She questions why he has to fight in this war, he barks back that it’s his duty, they hug solemnly and he says his heartfelt goodbyes to his son.
These banal conventions are presented in a flashback format, intertwined between clips of Gabriel and Devin traversing through a post-apocalyptic America. They are in search of his family, Johnathan being believed to have been abducted. This angle is the first inclination that something isn’t quite as it seems. At the very least, this isn’t the rudimentary war film it was painted to be, even if a lot of the focus is on those tropes.
I won’t spoil the twist, which heavy-handedly presents the true intention of the film. I will state that I found it to be audacious and jarring, most definitely the point. It is telegraphed well, yet I didn’t see it coming. It packs an emotional punch, though not as impactful as it could’ve been. The screenplay (credited to Adam G. Simon and director Dito Montiel) was awash in formulaic dialogue up until this point, such as the aforementioned vanilla argument. It was meant to throw the viewer off course, which it did, but it also stunted the drama for me. Therefore, while the twist was powerful, it was more because of how it caught me off guard than anything else. It was the jolt in the arm I needed to bring me back into the film, which by this point had started to lose me.
To the filmmakers’ credit, the finale got me thinking about the film and its message heavily. My drive back from the theater was encompassed by the twist and how it was incorporated. I wrestled with my feelings on the film, appreciating and respecting the moral whilst feeling distant from the production as a whole. In figuring out what didn’t work, I was able to understand Montiel’s direction, all the while still questioning if his motifs paid off. Much like how Ang Lee intentionally made “Billy Lynn” hollow to complement his message, Dino made “Man Down” formulaic in spots to throw off the scent.
I’ve come to the conclusion that my issues with the film are with its structure. At first, I thought it was with the basic principles of the war film (and anti-war film), their heavy placement deterring me from the drama. While I still feel they could’ve been downplayed, I understand their role and admire the humanity that was able to ring through. The script may be littered with clichés, but the actors are able to raise them up. The relationship between Gabriel and his son is endearing despite its cheesiness, such as in using the phrase “Man down” as a term of endearment (uttered incessantly at one point, enough to drive the Cinema Sins crew mad). Same goes with his friendship with Devin, which falls victim to the expected deceptions, but works because of the chemistry between LaBeouf and Courtney. Both have been criticized for being either too bland or too overbearing, but their performances here show they’re capable of compassion and relatable joviality when a director allows them to showcase this. Even the aforementioned vanilla argument is given more weight by the complexion of Shia & Mara, showing that more lies beneath the surface than the simple logistics of war.
Then I thought it was the post-apocalyptic aspect throwing me off. While I loved the approach initially, as it was different and unique, its minor development caused it to feel fruitless. Having Johnathan’s son held hostage in a war-ridden area would’ve sufficed, guiding him to his destination and still touching upon the themes. This notion is proven wrong upon the reveal of the twist, the post-apocalypse a vital ingredient. Even so, it is severely undercooked and could’ve been played with more, both to throw off the scent further and heighten the twist’s significance.
That’s when it hit me: my main gripe was with the psychological evaluation done by Counselor Peyton (Gary Oldman). The meeting between the two encompasses the entire film, acting as the glue that holds the flashbacks together. This in turn causes the meatier aspects of the film to be undermined by the circumscribed direction. The flashbacks must act accordingly to the evaluation, hence the adherence to the clichés and cloaking of the intricacies. Gabriel would be much more secretive about the twist seeing as how it haunts him, restricting the film to focusing more heavily on the basics. While this evaluation doesn’t hinder the production fully (it does coyly play into the overall theme), it does hold it back.
Had “Man Down” been structured better, I would’ve enjoyed the story more. The drama would’ve connected with me more exponentially, as opposed to developing at a snail’s pace. The twist would’ve held more weight, acting more as a gut punch than a mere shock. The post-apocalypse could’ve been explored more, bypassing the hackneyed truism in the process. Everything would’ve flowed much smoother, as opposed to clashing.
There is the belief that seeing a film after knowing its twist helps signify how great the movie actually is. The viewer is keener to notice how the twist is implemented and if it complements the production as a whole. What was once threadbare may actually be clever and taut. It is possible a rewatch of “Man Down” will iron out my grievances, producing a more substantial experience. As it is, “Man Down” is an audacious but ultimately underwhelming feature.
Final Rating: C+