ENTERTAINMENT MOVIES
   Review

'Joe's War' takes a simplistic look at a Marine's post-traumatic stress
disorder

   ʼJoeʼs Warʼ
   'Joe's War'
   Phase One

   A scene from "Joe's War."

   A scene from "Joe's War."
   (Phase One)
   Martin Tsai

   At the center of "Joe's War" is a Marine (Michael Markiewicz) who has
   completed tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. Although he returns
   home to Staten Island, N.Y., physically unscathed, he's a changed man
   for having witnessed several comrades fall.

   He's lost interest in marrying his girlfriend, Sarah (Tina Grimm),
   hanging with pals and in playing hockey. Indeed, he's lost interest in
   life in general. He spends much of his waking hours knocking back drink
   after drink, as unbearable flashbacks to the battlefields come at the
   most inopportune times — like during sex and in the middle of a job
   interview. Those around Joe show such little concern; they don't even
   venture to ask what it was like over there.
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   The film, unfortunately, treats the important and complex subject of
   post-traumatic stress disorder in an oversimplified and reductive way.
   As cowritten by John P. De Meo and Phil Falcone and directed by
   Falcone, "Joe's War" shows the affliction manifested in few ways other
   than binge drinking and angry outbursts. The supposedly grisly visions
   mostly look like military drills. The coping of loved ones and the
   exorcising of demons likewise ring false here.

   These characters' inarticulateness reflects less on their working-class
   background than on the weak writing and acting. Only Armand Assante, as
   Joe's Vietnam-veteran therapist, manages to talk some sense into him as
   well as the proceedings.

   ------------

   "Joe's War."

   No MPAA rating.

   Running time: 1 hour, 51 minutes.

   Playing: Laemmle's Playhouse 7, Pasadena.
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