Film Review: CAUSEWAY (2022): Jennifer Lawrence is in Top Form in a Slow-Moving but Affecting Dramatic Film

Causeway Review

Causeway (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Lila Neugebauer, written by Ottessa Moshfegh, Luke Goebel and Elizabeth Sanders and starring Jennifer Lawrence, Brian Tyree Henry, Linda Emond, Danny Wolohan, Jayne Houdyshell, Neal Huff, Han Soto, Frederick Weller, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Will Pullen, Russell Harvard, Sue-Lynn, Samuel Ali, Claire Ishi Ayetoro and James Bane.

Causeway is a small dramatic picture about two every day people who are suffering through their own personal problems but find comfort in each other’s company. Directed by Lila Neugebauer, this film is a vehicle for the always intriguing Jennifer Lawrence to display her dramatic acting talents which were prevalent in some of her earlier pictures such as Winter’s Bone. Nothing too devastating happens in Causeway that isn’t revealed right at the beginning of the story but the movie is quietly effective in its slow-moving portrayal of two people trying to find their respective paths in life.

Lawrence stars in the film as a soldier named Lynsey who has a significant brain injury that she obtained while serving in Afghanistan. The movie opens with her focusing on getting her physical abilities back while in the care of a woman named Sharon (well played by Jayne Houdyshell). Lynsey suffers from an ailment that makes her drop things at times and is on several different medications. She takes a job as a pool cleaner and when her truck breaks down, she takes it to a shop where she meets a kind man named James (Brian Tyree Henry) who has one leg and has suffered a fair share of tragedy in his own life.

Since Lynsey is not looking for a boyfriend due to her sexual orientation, the relationship that forms between Lynsey and James is very interesting to watch. James offers her help while she is trying to put her life together after becoming injured while serving her country. James helps Lynsey fend off a man who tries to hit on her and drives her places that she needs to go. Although Lynsey is getting by, she has a troubled past which includes a distant relationship with her brother Justin (Russell Harvard) who is currently in prison.

Lynsey is trying to put things back together and wants to go back to her real job–serving her country. She desires this return even though her doctor (Stephen McKinley Henderson who stands out considerably with another very good performance within the film) doesn’t necessarily recommend it. There is some fine interaction between Lawrence and Henderson in their scenes together which shed light on Lynsey’s need to grasp the current reality she is faced with.

There is a lot of dramatic substance here in a script by no less than three writers. Lawrence’s character comes to admire the way James’s kindness displays itself and she probably likes him more when he realizes there’s no chance for them to be together romantically, but he still sticks around anyway. Brian Tyree Henry is superb as a man who is physically disabled but emotionally available to Lynsey as a friend and companion. The scenes between Lawrence and Henry are realistic and bring to life a strong bond that we rarely see in today’s film. It is a connection that is not based on sexual attraction and is more based on the need for companionship than anything else.

Russell Harvard gives a strong supporting performance playing Justin who Lynsey gets the courage to see at one point in the film. Harvard is deaf and the scene between him and Lawrence where they express their thoughts and concerns through sign language is very touching. Harvard is hopeful rather than sorrowful playing the long lost brother and it’s a notable performance to be sure.

Lawrence makes a bid for a potential Oscar nomination with her solid performance. Her character doesn’t initially seem in sync with the actress’s looks which is all the more impressive because it allow the audience to see Lawrence as more than the movie star we know her as from her roles in blockbusters such as The Hunger Games movies. When Lynsey kisses James out of pity, it opens up the best scene in the movie where Henry’s James is able to verbally convey the inner thoughts of this character as he tries to make Lynsey think more about her actions now and moving forward. Both performers hit it out of the park with their tremendous work in this scene which is set around a swimming pool at night.

Causeway is, as previously stated, slow-moving and, at the end, it may feel a bit slight but it’s a good film. Henry brings his character to life with precision that makes the audience want to see James and Lynsey make something worthwhile out of the time they spend together. There are no real dramatic revelations here that make the film anything other than a well-made character study of two lost souls finding some sort of peace and satisfaction in their lives. Lawrence is, as always, strong but it is Henry who just may surprise you with his very nuanced work in the emotionally satisfying Causeway.

Rating: 7/10

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