The Lucky Ones

With the 4th of July celebrations approaching in America one may wish to try THE LUCKY ONES as an alternative to the run of the mill patriotic material. It's a quirky little films dealing with three very different soldiers returning from Iraq and the challenges they face when home. What makes it quirky is how it manages to be a comedy, a slight romace and a serious drama all at the same time and actually gets the job done. Slow for the first bit it builds the characters and story to a point where for once you care and this seems to be rather rare these days. Tim Robbins once again delivers a sound performance and young but now veteran Michael Pena shows signs of greatness to come though the real stand-out would be London, Ontario's Rachel McAdams. Her range here is all over the board and in the case of the role she is playing this is a good thing. While her star has been on connstant rise since MEAN GIRLS and RED EYE look for her to reach superstardom when SHERLOCK HOLMES and THE TIME TRAVELLER's WIFE are released later this year. This is the third feature from Neil Burger and while not quite up to the level of THE ILLUSIONIST both his directing and scripting style make this a truly unique look at America and in these troubled times no a bad one at that.