There have been many films about men in war. There aren’t as many depicting women in war. There is probably an even smaller number that depicts a woman and a dog going to war. That is the case with the movie Megan Leavey. It stars Kate Mara in the title role. She is essentially starring opposite a German shepherd. He hams it up a little, but fortunately does not chew the scenery.
Meghan Leavey is a woman who is trying to find herself. She has a rocky relationship with her mother, Jackie, (Edie Falco). Megan decides to take a bold step forward in her life. She joins the marines. She has a difficult time adjusting, and fouls up. She gets as punishment an assignment to the canine corps. She starts by cleaning dog cages, but is promoted to dog handler. She becomes good at this, and is assigned a dog, Rex. This movie isn’t slow paced, but picks up when her unit deploys to Iraq.
The film is filled with very tense and dramatic moments, when Megan gets to Iraq. The camera picks up these moments. It shows the rundown and battle scarred city, as the troops go out on patrol. They are going house to house, when Rex picks up on something. He finds a large cache of weapons, that were hidden. There are also moments of relaxing. There is also a time frame of six months. It is in the sixth month, that Megan and Rex lives are forever changed.
A speeding car is stopped by the patrolling marines. Megan is searching the car, and steps away after completing the search. A hidden bomb goes off and Megan and Rex are both injured. They manage to get back in the truck, and engage the enemy. While the marines are exchanging fire, Max saves a marine’s life. Megan is seriously hurt when a wall collapses. She ends up being evacuated from the war zone, and goes stateside. It is after her recovery, thatRex is taken from her. The veterinarian has made an evaluation, that Rex can go back into a war zone. This time he is sent to Afghanistan.
This is heartbreaking to Megan. She has spent quality time with her companion. They’ve both been to hell and back. She goes into counseling, and moves back with her mother. Jackie never quite has a line on her daughter’s needs. She thinks a puppy will help Megan. It has the opposite effect, causing more damage to their relationship. She moves in with her father, trying to adjust to life without her best friend. She must also adjust to civilian life. It is while she is trying to adjust that Megan, begins a campaign to reunite with Rex.
This story is compelling and heartbreaking. It has managed to show the bond between a soldier and her dog. It also shows the bravery of the men and women who serve in the marine corps. When they are patrolling, they don’t know if they will make it back. Gabriela Cowperthwaite, has managed to show the dangers faced, by the marines. She does this by showing scenes of the soldiers in their vehicles, observing for any suspicious signs. She is helped by the story crafted by Pamela Gray, Annie Mumolo and Tim Lovestedt. The script is good. The story might have been better, if Edie Falco had more of a role. She is very talented and should get more character driven roles. The driving force behind Megan Leavey is it’s star, Kate Mara. She is powerful showing the bond that can develop between a human and a dog. She has roots in professional sports being related to the Mara and Rooney football families. She could probably have stayed within her roots, and been successful. She instead chose acting becoming very successful in television and movies.
Megan Leavey has accomplished showing a young person achieve to a high level. She saves lives while risking her own. It shows what a dog’s companionship can do for a person. This is a bond that can’t be broken. When the dog is gone, it causes the person great heartbreak. The bravery depicted in this film and the mission of the military, make for good viewing.