‘The Plastic Men’ Review
Stars: James Preston, Aaron Dalla Villa, William Fichtner, Gigi Gustin, Melanie Martyn | Written and Directed by Samuel Gonzalez Jr.
“Your actions were a disgrace.”
The Plastic Men is a riveting new take on the PTSD drama. A psychological horror with a slight romance angle, Samuel Gonzalez Jr.’s new film is back and forth haunting and harrowing.
Eased in with a William Fichtner narration, The Plastic Men opens with a lengthy pre-title-sequence on the great open road. Banter between the boys turns to bloodshed when tragedy strikes, eventually leading to Vietnam deployment. What was temporarily a light-hearted adventure couldn’t be further from what follows: literally hell.
Presented as being based on a true story, Vietnam veteran Johnathan Teller (James Preston) is struggling with his return to normal life. Jonathan has left the war, but the war hasn’t left him. Each day is a flashback, each day is torture. Prepared to end it all, in the darkest moment of his life, Jonathan manages to find a glimpse of light before him.
Throughout The Plastic Men, Jonathan’s PTSD episodes gradually elevate the film to that of a psychological horror, and thus, an often aggressively uncomfortable viewing. The discomfort in viewership is a reaction to the authentic terror endured by Jonathan time after time. The PTSD episodes are so graphic to a degree that they subsequently beg the question: what will happen next?
Perhaps, the most defining scenes or elements of The Plastic Men is not the possibility of hope and rebuilding one’s life, but instead, the threat to life and disregard of it. At the most shocking point of the film, at a veteran’s talk group, a participant (Abbott, Aaron Dalla Villa) endures and presents a complete breakdown. Shocking in all aspects. A difficult scene to both comprehend and move on from. To know that Jonathan engages in some eventual happiness feels completely unrealistic at this time.
Based, or influenced by a romantic Craigslist ad back in 2015, The Plastic Men does take its time in reaching any existence of an abrupt love story. This component of the film is literally short and sweet. Though not completely pointless, the hapless romance element does lead and open the door to the existence of hope and happiness. Given the moody and miserable context of The Plastic Men, anything to draw a glimpse of happiness is welcomed home with open arms.
As ever with any good post-war drama, there is no glorification of war, duty, service etc. This is as gripping as it gets. A character study that many veterans can align with. Flashbacks refuse to answer all of the questions, but instead, allude to what terrors veterans living with PTSD experienced in the war. The Plastic Men is plastic in name only. A difficult, yet important post-war text.
***½. 3.5/5
The Plastic Men is available to stream now on Amazon
