I went to Apple TV + this morning to see if there were any movies on that streamer that I needed to watch. Apple TV + does not seem to promote their films as well as some of the other streaming services, or, at least, I don’t come there as much as I do the others and I just miss some films. I found one this morning that, apparently, debuted on Apple TV + this past Friday starring Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry called Causeway.

I did not know anything about Causeway, so I was intrigued. I do not have a problem with JLaw, but she does not automatically mean her film is a must see either. I do like Brian Tyree Henry though and it was an A24 film, which is usually a positive sign.

Causeway featured the two main characters played by Lawrence and Henry at the center of a slow, psychological drama that dealt with trauma and the results of it. Both Lawrence and Henry had to face their own personal trauma and were suffering the after-effects of it.

Lynsey (Jennifer Lawrence)was a soldier who returned from Afghanistan with a brain injury after being involved in an explosion. Her recovery was slow, but steady and she wanted to return for redeployment. She met James (Brian Tyree Henry) when her truck began smoking and she took it to James’s repair shop. She realized soon after that James had an artificial leg since his own had been amputated after a car wreck.

Of course, both incidents of trauma had much more involved than just the moment and their relationship grew while they tried to overcome the PTSD they faced.

I thought Jennifer Lawrence was solid in this role, but I definitely thought that Brian Tyree Henry was exceptional. He stood out from the film with enough realness that while he was on screen, the film really worked.

The performances carried this movie because it was slow and, at times, the story dragged. Both Lawrence and Henry’s performances were subtle and understated and fit amazingly with the tone of the movie. However, at times the film felt withdrawn from the audience.

There have been plenty of films over the years where the performances elevated the script and I think this is another example of that. Lawrence and Henry are the reasons to see this movie, but the deliberate pacing could lose some. Causeway does a strong job at looking at the results of trauma and how it can affect people. It feels like a shot of a normal life of a couple of damaged people, and that can be enough.

3.5 stars