Shia LaBeouf struggles with PTSD in first Man Down trailer
The first trailer for Man Down is bookended by a PTSD-suffering Shia LaBeouf talking over a desk to Gary Oldman. Throughout the trailer, we see snippets of LaBeouf bonding overseas in Afghanistan with his battle buddy Jai Courtney and teases of a specific building sweep that goes bad. Man Down looks like a character-driven modern war drama in the vein of Jarhead or The Hurt Locker, but word has it there are post-apocalyptic undertones that aren’t revealed in the trailer. I’m curious, to say the least.
Watch the trailer for Man Down, check out the first poster, and read a plot synopsis for the movie after the jump.
Again, you’d think this was a pretty straightforward look at life for war-torn individuals once they return home, but then there’s that post-apocalyptic element that’s presumably thrown in for flavor. Aliens? Societal collapse? Nuclear war? What’s going on here? I imagine the trailer would have been full of supernatural elements and explosions if that were the selling point, so I’m going to guess whatever post-apocalyptic pieces are thrown in to the puzzle are there for backdrop. LaBeouf’s performance seems to be what’s grounding Man Down, and focus will most likely be on he and Courtney’s relationship as well as that adjustment/non-adjustment dissonance that contributes to PTSD. Is the trailer and talent enough to sell you on the movie?
Here’s the lengthy plot synopsis for Man Down to fill out the details touched on in the trailer:
When U.S. Marine Gabriel Drummer returns home from his tour in Afghanistan, he finds that the place he once called home is no better than the battlefields he fought on overseas. Accompanied by his best friend Devin Roberts, a hardnosed marine whose natural instinct is to shoot first and ask questions later, he searches desperately for the whereabouts of his estranged son, Jonathan and wife, Natalie. In their search, the two intercept Charles, a man carrying vital information about the whereabouts of Gabriel’s family. As we revisit the past, we are guided in unraveling the puzzle of Gabriel’s experience and what will eventually lead us to finding his family.
Man Down was directed by Dito Montiel (A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints) and stars Shia LaBeouf, Jai Courtney, Kate Mara, Clifton Collins Jr., Gary Oldman, Christopher Berry, and Charlie Shotwell. The movie hits theaters on December 2, 2016.
