Causeway: LFF Film Review
After spending a lot of her career in big blockbuster franchises like X-Men and The Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence returns to her roots with Causeway.
In the drama, directed by Lila Neugebauer, Lawrence plays Lynsey, a soldier who returns home to New Orleans after being discharged from the army following a traumatic brain injury in Afghanistan. The film follows her as she adjusts to normal life back home with her mum Gloria (Linda Emond).
Not much happens in Causeway as the focus is on character rather than plot. It is slow, melancholic and meditative but it’s never boring because Lynsey is a fascinating, complex character and Lawrence makes her captivating and compelling, even when we’re just watching her clean pools or see the doctor. It also helps that we don’t learn much about Lynsey straight away; her layers are gradually peeled back and we slowly find out what happened to her and why she hates being at home.
The heart of the film is the friendship between Lynsey and James (Brian Tyree Henry), a mechanic who fixes her truck. They are both coming from places of trauma – for very different reasons – and become each other’s most trusted confidantes. James makes living in New Orleans slightly easier for Lynsey and she likes having someone in her life who doesn’t know about her past. The same goes for James, who is nursing heartbreak and an alcohol dependency following a tragedy.
Lawrence got her start in quieter, character-driven films like Winter’s Bone and she clearly wanted to go back to that type of film as Causeway is the first project from her production company Excellent Cadaver. This is a stripped-back role which really displays her talents and she is phenomenal here. You can tell there is so much going on underneath Lynsey’s surface. Henry is an excellent match for her – he brings just as much depth to James – and they have solid platonic chemistry.
Causeway won’t float everyone’s boat because it is so slow and quiet but these characters are well worth your time.
Seen as part of the London Film Festival. On Apple TV+ from Friday 4th November.