Causeway

Exploring familiar circumstances from a fresh perspective, Causeway is understated and introspective almost to a fault.

However, fully committed performances drive this quietly powerful drama of a soldier’s recovery and reintegration after suffering a traumatic brain injury overseas on the front lines.

In this case, that combat veteran happens to be a woman, Lynsey (Jennifer Lawrence), whose wounds are both physical and psychological. A rehabilitation stint with a supportive nurse (Jane Houdyshell) offers both comfort and caution. “Transition can be hard,” she warns as Lynsey re-learns cognitive functions and motor skills.

That proves true when Lynsey returns to her fractured working-class family in New Orleans, including a divorced mother (Linda Emond) whose scatterbrained eccentricities and unreliable nature make her a handful.

While insisting she wants to return to active duty despite the risks, Lynsey finds a job as a pool cleaner. She’s also saddled with a broken-down truck, which enables her to find James (Brian Tyree Henry), a mechanic who becomes an unlikely friend and confidant.

It turns out James is haunted by residual scars from a past tragedy, and his decision to confide in Lynsey proves mutually therapeutic. Yet both are also stubborn and strong-willed, which causes friction as their relationship deepens.

Lawrence captures the unique physicality of the role without trying to oversell her trauma. Given her character’s withdrawn disposition, she’s able to convey emotion as much through facial expressions and body language — her thoughts as she stares blankly into the distance, for example — as through dialogue.

Lawrence and Henry generate some intriguing dynamics in their scenes together, from lighthearted to poignant, which carry a platonic intimacy that feels authentic as they bond over a shared need to process grief.

The heartfelt screenplay tends to oversimplify her plight to suit the narrative rather than allowing her progression to unspool organically. Her symptoms and episodes seem calculated.

Still, the film avoids heavy-handed stridency regarding military appreciation, as rookie director Lila Neugebauer sensitively maintains a tight character-driven focus that doesn’t yield traditional payoffs.

Charting a narrow path to hope amid the collective heartbreak of its characters, Causeway reinforces how true healing can come from the most unexpected places.

Rated R, 92 minutes.