A Special Veteran’s Day Look at “Megan Leavey”

For the last couple years for the Examiner, I have been working on special reviews for Veteran’s Day and this year I chose three films - “Megan Leavey,” “12 Strong” and “American Sniper.” The Dietrich Theater will be showing their Dietrich Film Favorite selection “Megan Leavey” today at 1 pm and 7 pm.

Megan Leavey (born October 28, 1983) is a former US Marines Corps corporal famous for her service as a military police K9 handler during the Iraq War. Leavey enlisted in the Marine Corps in August 2002 and was assigned to Camp Pendleton, where she was paired with a German Shepherd combat dog named Rex. The pair deployed twice together - to Fallujah in 2005 and Ramadi in 2006 - completing over 100 dangerous bomb-sniffing and explosive-detection missions.

In the film “Megan Leavey," the true life story of Leavey, a young Marine corporal whose unique discipline and bond with a military combat dog saved many lives during her deployment in Iraq. Assigned to clean up the K9 unit after a disciplinary hearing, Leavey starts to identify with Rex, a particularly aggressive dog that she trains.

At the core of the film’s appeal is the relationship between Leavey and her military dog, Rex. The film realistically depicts the mutual trust and emotional dependency that grew between them over time. While re-visiting the film, I felt particularly moved by the concept introduced in the film - “Everything you feel goes down the leash” - and how loving and training Max became Megan’s primary path out of personal despair and emotional isolation.

Unlike some military films that romanticize battlefield glory, “Megan Leavey” highlights the lingering psychological cost of modern warfare. I really like how the narrative addresses post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in both humans and animals, showing that Rex was also traumatized by contact explosions. The dual focus on post-deployment recovery also adds significant weight and empathy to the overall narrative.

Another aspect of the film that I also liked was the film’s tight narrative choices. Rather than spending excessive time on the usual boot camp tropes or prolonged military bureaucracy before deployment, the script efficiently established Leavey’s background and moved directly into the core story: her relationship with Rex during deployment and her arduous fight to adopt him after retirement.

Knowing the film was based on true events also gives the emotional climax powerful resonance. Every time I see the film, I find Leavey’s real-life fight against military red tape to

save a working hero dog deeply inspiring, resulting in a satisfying, uplifting ending that easily resonates with dog lovers, military families and general moviegoers alike.

The 2017 biographical drama “Megan Leavey” received highly positive critical acclaim and a warm, emotional reception from audiences. Critics generally praised the film for avoiding sentimental Hollywood tropes in favor of a gritty, realistic portrayal of both the realities of war and the powerful bond between humans and animals.

MPA: Rated PG-13 for war violence, language, suggestive material, and thematic material   (running time 116 minutes)

Initial release date: June 9, 2017

Streaming: The film is currently available at various PVOD services as of working on this review

• Much of the cast & crew were pleasantly surprised by Tom Felton's very convincing American accent, since they only remembered him from the Harry Potter movies where he used his normal accent.

• Both Kate Mara and the real Megan Leavey were born in 1983 and grew up in the suburbs of New York City.

• At 4:21, the real Megan Leavey first appears at the pull up tower. She's the DI in the maroon T-shirt, not wearing a Camelbak. She appears again a few seconds later at 'the wall' motivating Megan Leavey to go over it.

• After bringing Rex home one of the toys Megan offers him to play with is a New York Giants football. Kate Mara's family owns the New York Giants.