They got something right that few other movies do.

Rating: 8/10 (6 February 2011)

This movie is not a typical Hollywood war film. It has some parts that are, but in many ways it was quite grounded in the reality of the deployed soldier.
Having spent some quality time in Afghanistan before seeing this movie, I was curious as to the type of war movie it would be. It was gritty. It was unpleasant at times. It sexed up a few things, but tried to stay grounded.
What it did better than any other war movie I've ever seen is portray the mentality and difficulties of a soldier returning home to his family. His trouble engaging in conversation with his wife because all he's known for the last year is IED's and gunfire. She's not interested in the details when he tries to share. He's overwhelmed by the tasks taken for granted at home, staring at a wall of cereal boxes ad unable to make a choice. Alone, bored and overwhelmed, he does the only thing he can think to. He goes back. The look and expression on his face say it all.
Without that part, this would have been a 6/10 for me. This part, this often overlooked part of soldiering, is what popped it up for me.