Disability in cinema often comes with an Oscar promise attached, as actors automatically jockey for recognition of their work. Rarely is that performance stripped back to its bare bones to reveal the person beneath dealing quietly with their struggle instead of on a cinematic soapbox. Thankfully, Lila Neugebauer’s Causeway achieves just that aided in no small measure by Jennifer Lawrence on solid form.
Pictured in close-up as a car sits out of focus, Neugebauer introduces the audience to Lynsey (Jennifer Lawrence) in silence. Detached, disorientated, and withdrawn – it is a low-key moment amongst many in the opening ten minutes which sets the tone and directorial intent. There are no hints of a film star here, as Lawrence exhibits post-traumatic symptoms alongside restrictive motor movement.
Holed up in a halfway house for recovering army veterans, her full-time caregiver Sharon (Jayne Houdyshell), shows patience and tenderness as Lynsey slowly makes progress. A montage of physiotherapy sessions, dignity-stripping toilet trips, and tutorials in basic bathroom skills follow, revealing an actor unconcerned with appearances. This is a return to Winter’s Bone territory for an actor who has successfully conquered mainstream action flicks and arthouse indie fare.
Here the character requires a degree of honesty on the screen which few leading ladies are prepared to offer. There are no scenery-chewing monologues, no ostentatious emotional arcs, and even fewer examples of Apple financing. Causeway is just a film with some powerful things to say about people connecting.
Returning to her hometown from a tour of Afghanistan with a serious brain injury, Lynsey needs time to re-adjust. With four different types of medication designed to keep any post-traumatic tendencies at bay, her only human contact comes through Doctor Lucas (Stephen McKinley Henderson) and car mechanic James (Brian Tyree Henry). Her mother Gloria (Linda Emond) plays a minor part in conversations on occasion, but in the main their on-screen time is limited.
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