My America Vet Story (2012) Online

I have come to almost all of the My America short films without knowing much about them, without having much information to access on them, and without mostly ever having heard of the writer. This was certainly the case here because I had never heard of Sueko, so had no frame of reference for her background, although I saw that a lot of her writing features the impact of conflict in the Middle East. I mention this because I think it is unfair to assume that she has limited contact with US veterans – perhaps she spent months with them to capture their voice and struggle, I have no idea. However, one of the things that I struggled with in this short film was that the core of it felt overly written.

The dialogue about questions in particular struck me as overly elaborated; for sure it is a voice to the struggle of PTSD but it seems like it is one that most sufferers would perhaps not be able to fully voice. Or maybe that is unfair? Maybe the bluntest way is the way it gets said – I am not sure, but the pace with which we get to these points seems too fast and too obvious. Likewise the home example that closes the piece seem honest and impacting, but at the same time a bit too "written" as dialogue, so that it feels like a piece rather than a person.

That said the delivery from Segal is engaging and genuine, even if he cannot totally sell all of this lines, and perhaps didn't benefit from having to sit in a sort of "rocking" position – which again seems too easy a shorthand for PTSD. I thought it does have flaws across its short running time, but the wider issue that Sueko raises is important and it is easy to appreciate her for taking her contribution to this series and using it for this purpose.