The film begins on a melancholy note.

Beatriz (played by Salma Hayek) is a holistic healer and masseuse, who lives a quiet life in California, surrounded by her pets and appreciative clients. But not all is well in her world. An adolescent client is dying, and a neighbor has cruelly strangled her pet goat.

Feeling out of sorts, Beatriz heads out to an affluent neighborhood to provide a massage for Cathy (Connie Britton). When Beatriz’s car breaks down, leaving her stranded for several hours, she reluctantly accepts a dinner party invitation from Cathy.

One of the guests, Doug Strutt (John Lithgow) mistakes Beatriz for a maid. The evening goes downhill from there. The belligerent billionaire dominates the conversation, boasting about his business acumen and game hunting, while the other wealthy guests curry his favor.

Having consumed more wine than usual, Beatriz shares her more liberal beliefs and engages in debate with Doug. A tense, uncomfortable mood envelopes the group and Beatriz eventually leaves the table. To everyone’s shock and disappointment, she later returns to sing.

At that point, I would have expected a more dramatic turn of events. Instead, the film veers in an unusual direction and then ends abruptly…too abruptly after only eighty-three minutes. Unsettled, I left the theater with many unanswered questions about Beatriz, her relationships, and her state of mind.

I sat spellbound, eyes glued to the big screen and watched as the title character (brilliantly played by Kate Mara) transformed from restless young woman to Marine Corporal to war hero.

But the path was far from linear.

After escaping from a humdrum, small-town life in Valley Cottage, New York, Megan Leavey finds herself undergoing grueling training at Camp Pendleton. As punishment for a lapse in judgment, she is assigned kennel-cleaning duty for bomb-sniffing dogs. There, she encounters Rex, an unpredictable, aggressive German Shepherd, who bites the hand of an officer, shattering it in six places.

Initially terrified, Megan heeds the advice of her superior (Common) and fellow handler (Tom Felton) and learns how to project confidence and compassion when dealing with Rex. Megan and Rex form a deep bond that is strengthened in combat and later cemented in retirement.

The war scenes in Iraq include several tense and violent moments when IEDs explode and local establishments are searched. Megan and Rex are injured during a mission, and an officer dies while deployed. While I found these scenes difficult to watch, they did succeed in capturing the horror of the Iraq war. Later scenes provide insight into the frightening and lingering effects of PTSD.

Edie Falco delivers a strong performance as Megan’s shrill, unsupportive mother while Bradley Whitford plays a more compassionate father. Fellow Marine Matt Morales (played by Ramón Rodrigez) appears in several scenes as Megan’s love interest. But the love affair is short-lived…Megan’s true love is Rex.

I would have liked more specifics about the small-town hell that Megan was so desperate to escape. A few quick scenes glossed over a strained relationship with Mom and Megan’s poor people skills, leaving several gaping holes.

A must-see film that will linger in consciousness. Remember to bring tissue!