CAUSEWAY REVIEW

 *MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Following her breakthrough appearance in the chilling drama, Winter’s Bone, in 2010, Jennifer Lawrence quickly became one of the most successful actors. She found fame with her role as Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games franchise and won her first Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role in Silver Linings Playbook at the 85th Academy Awards. Lawrence also received Oscar nominations for her roles in American Hustle and Joy. 2017 saw the release of Darren Aronofsky’s horror film, mother!. Although the film was divisive, it proved that Lawrence wasn’t afraid to take risks and delivered a powerful performance. In 2019, Lawrence made her final appearance as mutant, Mystique, in X-Men Dark Phoenix, before taking a short break from acting. Last year, Lawrence returned with her appearance in Adam McKay’s disaster based comedy, Don’t Look Up, which featured a star studded cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill and Cate Blanchett. Now, Lawrence’s latest film role sees her returning to her indie roots in Causeway. 

Following a traumatic brain injury sustained while serving in Afghanistan, Lynsey (Jennifer Lawrence) returns to the US where she undergoes a slow and painful process of rehabilitation. As her condition steadily improves, the prospect of another difficult ordeal lies ahead – returning to her hometown in New Orleans. Back in a place she tried to forget, in a house with a mother she struggles to connect with, Lynsey feels desperately alone, until she meets James (Brian Tyree Henry), a car mechanic also wrestling with the heavy burden of past traumas. An initial bond soon develops into a firm friendship, but while each offers the other companionship they so desperately need, they also have the capacity to cause harm.

Causeway is a character driven drama that sees Lawrence continuing to establish herself as one of the most talented actors working today. The film opens with her character, Lynsey, leaving the hospital and recovering from her injury. Although it’s not revealed straightaway what caused her injury, it’s obvious it was something serious as Lynsey has trouble doing normal tasks such as washing and walking, resulting in her needing physio. The injury has also impacted her mental health as she struggles with post traumatic stress disorder and depression. What’s most surprising is that, despite the traumatic experience, Lynsey wants to return to Afghanistan. After returning home, Lynsey struggles to adjust to her old life. She soon meets James who is also struggling mentally following an tragic car accident involving him and his family and resulting in the loss of one of his legs. Henry recently appeared in Eternals, which is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He was also part of a scene stealing double act alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the action packed Bullet Train, which was released earlier this year. As James in Causeway, Henry delivers his most impressive performance. When Lynsey first meets James, he’s funny and friendly, however, his warm personality is hiding the pain he is secretly going through. Overall, both Lawrence and Henry share chemistry and deliver heartfelt and touching performances.

As well as acting, Causeway is also produced by Lawrence with her production company, Excellent Cadaver. It’s easy to understand why Lawrence chose the script by Elizabeth Sanders, Ottessa Moshfegh and Luke Goebel, to make into a feature film as it explores important themes such as mental health, trauma, grief and friendship in a meaningful and thought provoking way. The friendship between Lynsey and James is developed naturally. While other films would have forced in an unnecessary romantic subplot between the two main characters, I’m glad that their relationship remained platonic throughout. It was refreshing to watch a film about two people who are simply friends. While their bond is close, Lynsey and James aren’t perfect individuals and they make mistakes, resulting in a brief fallout between them halfway through the film. The friendship between Lynsey and James will resonate with a lot of people who have had similar relationships with other people and they’ll be able to understand their feelings and actions.

Causeway is directed by Lila Neugebauer. Although it’s the first film that she’s directed, Neugebauer establishes herself as a skilful filmmaker who knows how to make a compelling, character driven drama. As producer, Lawrence allowed Neugebauer to have creative freedom and, as a result, Causeway feels like it was made by a filmmaker with a unique vision. What’s most interesting about Neugebauer as a director is her decision to focus entirely on the present narrative, instead of cutting to the traumatic incident that resulted in Lynsey’s brain injury. I think that a flashback sequence would have been too distracting from the main story. Causeway is a film about two individuals 

overcoming their struggles and forming a friendship. It takes its time to develop the characters and tell their story. I think that Causeway could have benefitted from a longer runtime than 92 minutes as both of the characters are interesting enough and I would have liked to have seen more of their friendship.

Causeway is a compelling, character driven drama that features heartfelt performances by Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry.

8/10