‘Causeway’ Trailer: Jennifer Lawrence Is a Veteran Battling PTSD in Apple and A24’s Drama

Jennifer Lawrence is just trying to rebuild her life.

Starring as a military engineer who returns from Afghanistan after suffering from a brain injury following an IED explosion, Lawrence is shown battling post-traumatic stress disorder as well as trying to physically and emotionally recover from warfare. Brian Tyree Henry also stars. “Causeway” is produced by A24 and Apple Original Films, premiering in select theaters and on AppleTV+ November 4.

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To film and produce “Causeway” was a change of pace for Lawrence. The Oscar winner previously told Vogue that she was drawn to the “off-the-bat” rhythm of the storytelling, adding, “I like a fast-paced Marvel movie as much as the next person. But I do miss the slow melody of a character-driven story.” But the political and personal atmosphere made for “the hardest shoot” of Lawrence’s life.

“Yes, I did make a movie. I worked really hard on it. It was the hardest shoot of my life. It was three years,” Lawrence said. “I hope people see it. But if not, we’re all going to die anyway so who cares.”

“Causeway” is directed by Lila Neugebauer, marking the Broadway helmer’s first feature directorial debut. Ottessa Moshfegh penned the script, along with Luke Goebel and Elizabeth Sanders; the film is also produced by Justine Ciarrocchi. “Causeway” premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival

IndieWire critic David Ehlrich praised Lawrence and co-star Henry’s respective performances, calling the duo a “prickly and believable pair of broken people that even the scenes where nothing much happens seem charged with a healing electricity.”

“These are characters who have held their breaths for most of their lives, and there’s a powerful humanity in how they finally give each other permission to exhale (even if the one scene where they fight is so fantastic that it left me wishing the rest of the film hadn’t been quite so tranquil),” Ehlrich wrote. “This could all feel schematic in lesser hands, but Neugebauer gives Lawrence and Henry the space they need to make the film’s characters feel like real people. As a result, the inevitable glimmer of hope they share at the end is as honest as the hurt that guided them to it.”

“Causeway” will premiere in select theaters and globally on Apple TV+ on November 4.