“Pain is pain.” The context of this line is what makes it great. It’s so short and simple, and yet it’s the main theme of this movie. It’s the kind of line that makes this such a Linklater film. Sometimes his dialogue tends to have glaring cliches. But within those cliches lie flashes of brilliance. It’s what makes him such an intriguing filmmaker. He shows he has the potential for greatness, but is sometimes so eager to MAKE greatness that he strikes out. It’s an all-or-nothing, swing-or-go-home way to write movies, especially for conversation-heavy dramas. It’s that drastic back and forth, between succeeding and failing, that keeps you on your toes throughout Richard Linklater’s films. This is no different.

The train conversation is pure genius. I laughed my ass off while also gaining critical insight into the backgrounds of the characters and into the personalities of the characters themselves. And yet, for every flash of brilliance, there is the opposite. There are many times throughout the film that I find myself critical of the Sal character. This is not to criticize Bryan Cranston. He does an exemplary job with the character he is given. But make no mistake, there are problems. I don’t fully believe him when he says he only identifies with “the Corps” (the Marines), because he’s way too defiant. I know that Vietnam was ugly, and caused many veterans to regret their involvement and question their leaders’ decision making. But to be so defiant, as Sal is towards authority, is entirely at odds with the tenants of military life. The way he talks to the colonel, for instance, is just kind of unbelievable. A man who claims to identify as “Corps to the core” would be at least baseline respectful to a colonel. That’s a high rank, especially to an enlisted man. It wouldn’t make sense for him to be so nasty with him – especially because this colonel hasn’t done anything egregious.

Anyway, I liked this movie. Linklater can be hit or miss. But he really did get to something meaningful in this movie, even if it happens to be wrapped up in a bunch of cliches.

4 out of 5 stars