James served in the army in Iraq, was heavily attacked, and was discharged to return to West Texas with his family. He is married to Sara and they have no children yet. As the later scenes of the movie complete the life story of James, we learn that his father was a soldier in the Vietnam War and that he committed suicide after the severe depression he went through after the war. From the first scenes, hints are given that James will have social adaptation problems after returning to normal life after his duty in the army.
James remembers nothing, except that he was attacked and a friend was badly injured in the attack, in which two people were killed. When asked about this topic, it bothers him and he avoids answering. Because of the nightmares he saw on his first night, he tries to strangle his wife because he perceives her as a danger by holding her husband’s throat at night. This is the first of the problems he will experience with his wife. James then gets a job at the slaughterhouse. The images he sees here trigger his past experiences.
One day, out of the pub, when James was unconscious due to too much alcohol, they were trying to hunt rabbits with a firearm while the car was in motion. James woke up suddenly, startled, overreacting to the gunshot. He started attacking his friend for what he had done to the rabbit. That same night, he unconsciously attacked his wife because he had nightmares again. Her friend intervened and rescued Sara from her grasp. On the night of this, he had nightmares and attacked his wife unconsciously. His friend intervened. He woke up badly in the morning and went to the military hospital for his wound. He talked about the attack he was subjected to in the military. Two people in the car they were in were attacked by a rocket, and three of them survived, but he does not remember anything clearly before and after the attack. He only remembers screams after the attack. He wanted to return to the discharged home immediately after the incident. To the doctor’s question about suicide, she answered no. The doctor referred him to a psychiatrist and prescribed medication for anxiety.
Returning from the hospital, his wife Sara could not stand this aggressive behavior and that her husband did not share anything with her in this way, and left her husband. After his wife left, he became aggressive, damaged belongings, and decided to go on a journey to find out what events he did not remember. He left his dogs with his sick mother and set off for Raymond, where they served together in Iraq. He asks his friend to help remind him of the attack, but his friend doesn’t want to mention it either.
Taking Raymond with him, they went to see their friend Henry, who was badly injured in the attack and is still being treated at the hospital. It can be said that the only happy moment throughout the movie was this car ride. Henry finally completed the missing pieces that he couldn’t remember. Henry has lost his hands and ability to walk in the war, so he can’t even take care of himself. He offered James to put an end to his suffering and kill him. James said no. Henry explains the attack in all its details by saying that you already killed me once. While returning to the base in Iraq, James forced the car to stop to help the injured woman they came across on the road, and despite the intervention of his friends, he stopped the car to help the woman and got out. Raymond got down behind him, leaving the door open. The woman was injured and immediately tried to escape. James did not let the woman try to escape and a man aimed his gun at her and killed them with a chamber gun. This injured woman was a trap. Afterwards, Henry starts shouting rocket and the rocket enters through that open door and hits Henry.
Now that James knows all the details of the attack, he returns and receives the news of his mother’s death. It increases the amount and frequency of alcohol use. One day, while returning from the pub, he runs into his wife Sara and his friend. He overreacts, attacks his friend and takes his friend’s car and flees to his house. The police came to his house, told him to go out. Meanwhile, he tried to commit suicide with a gun, but he couldn’t. She started crying. By pretending to attack the police with an empty gun, he deliberately and deliberately tried to get the police killed in a planned way. But his wife intervened and persuaded him to lay down the gun. He was put in the police car and sent to the police station and the movie ended here.
In this movie, which is about the post-war life of James, the things mentioned above cover the diagnostic criteria of a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Do not experience a serious event such as a gun attack. Inability to remember a significant portion of traumatic events. Avoiding things that symbolize the event. He did not want to answer questions about the incident. Decreased interest in participating in activities, she preferred to stay introverted and live in silence. Nightmares and difficulty sleeping. Social withdrawal. Angry and overflowing mood. Excessive alcohol consumption despite no history of alcohol consumption. The state of separation and alienation from others: The state of being cut off from society, distanced from loved ones. Sudden Startle reacts suddenly and overreacts even to the dog approaching unaware. He carries a gun because he feels in danger. Over-reactive to stimuli. A state of constant vigilance. He has thoughts of harming himself and even tried to get the cops to kill himself at the end because he couldn’t fire the gun he pointed at his head. Do not feel overly guilty about the incident after learning the details of the incident from Henry. James meets the symptoms of PTSD as described above.
