A few days ago I had the misfortune of watching and reviewing Mardis Gras: Spring Break (2011).  I do not wish to revisit that so-called movie.  My only reason for mentioning it is to contextualize it regarding today’s film, Causeway (2022).  They are both set in New Orleans, but that is where the similarities end.  For the former, I had to talk about what is not in it in order to give you a Catholic analysis.  For the latter, while Faith is not a part of the story, the themes more closely align with Catholicism, making it a far richer experience.  To put all this simply, one is bad and the other is good.  I think it will become evident early on in this treatment which is which.

What is evident early on in Causeway is that Lynsey (Jennifer Lawrence) is not in good shape.  She is in a wheelchair outside a hospital in Nebraska waiting to be picked up by Sharon (Jayne Houdyshell).  Sharon is a nurse, and her job is to provide around-the-clock care for Lynsey, who suffered a brain injury while serving in Afghanistan.  As is detailed later, the truck in which she had been driving had been blown up by an improvised explosive device (IED).  Though she had survived the blast, she has to relearn how to function as an adult.  It is with Sharon that Lynsey begins her recovery.  Upon regaining her speech and most of her motor functions, Lynsey tells Sharon that the recovering soldier is leaving.  Lynsey’s next destination is her hometown, New Orleans, Louisiana.  Her mother, Gloria (Linda Edmond), is supposed to pick up her daughter, but is absent.  The two do not see each other until early in the morning the next day, and Gloria’s excuse is that she had mistaken the date of Lynsey’s arrival.  Gloria’s unreliability is one of the reasons why Lynsey’s is planning to make the stay in the Crescent City as short as possible.  The main goal for Lynsey is to return to active duty, and to do that she needs to have her local physician, Dr. Lucas (Stephen McKinley Henderson), sign off on her mental and physical fitness.  It does not look promising at the beginning of the process.  In addition to being shut down, she is close to a breakdown in stressful situations, and she continues to have trouble with memory and certain other physical traits.  Further, she does not like to be on the pills, but Dr. Lucas suggests that without them, she is at risk of a psychotic episode.  The way Lynsey knows how to cope with her problems is by staying busy.  Using the long-neglected truck in Gloria’s driveway, Lynsey is able to secure a job cleaning pools around the city.  However, on her way back from being hired, the vehicle exhibits engine troubles, and she is barely able to make it to the nearest mechanic.  The shop into which she limps is owned by James Aucoin (Brian Tyree Henry).  Once the car issues are diagnosed, she goes to catch a bus, but he graciously offers to give her a ride.  It is the first kindness she has experienced, and a bond begins to form between them.  Their friendship blossoms not solely because he is nice, but due to them being kindred spirits.  In a subsequent night, they go out to have a burger together, and we learn about how he lost his leg.  He had been engaged, but that had ended when he got into a car accident that resulted in the loss of his left appendage below the knee.  Also passing away in the wreck was his sister and nephew.  This is shared after some beers and other substances, the intoxication of which means that she has to drive him home.  Once there, he offers for her to move in, though on a platonic basis, she professing to being a lesbian.  The matter is dropped for the moment, and upon getting home, Lynsey finally catches up a little with Gloria.  Mom says she will take her daughter to the doctor for her final evaluation, but Gloria ends up forgetting about the promise.  The person Lynsey asks to fill in for her mother is James.  This means he is there when Dr. Lucas informs Lynsey that she is not ready for the military.  Lynsey does not know how to handle this development other than to spend more time with James at one of the pools she has been cleaning.  With the addition of more booze and other substances, they open up to each other in deeper ways, particularly James.  He talks more about his accident, and it leads to Lynsey kissing him.  After backing away and apologizing, she says that she feels bad for him.  Not wanting her sympathy, he accuses her of not being totally honest with aspects of her past.  This pertains to her brother, Justin (Russell Harvard), who she has heretofore talked about as if he is dead.  Instead, Justin is in jail for dealing drugs, but the admission is too little too late for James.  For Lynsey, she has never wanted to get away more, but in further discussions with Dr. Lucas, she finds her desire is to stay in New Orleans.  It is cemented when she visits Justin and they talk about how much they miss one another.  Thus, she purchases a six pack, walks over to James’ place to apologize, and asks if his offer to be roommates is still good.

Put differently, one could say that Lynsey is good by the end of Causeway.  What is happening is healing, though I wish it could have occurred with less weed and more prayer.  Nonetheless, I appreciate the film’s insistence that Lynsey’s issues, as well as James’, go beyond the physical.  There are some wounds that no medicine can treat, and this is something Dr. Lucas is insistent upon in his consultations with Lynsey.  In this sense, it is a little surprising that he does not recommend mental therapy to her.  It is a tool that Catholics are encouraged to use when it comes to certain kinds of trauma, but Faith adds that treatment does not stop at the clinic doors.  The kinds of issues with which Lynsey is plagued go deeper, and they are ones that only a relationship with God can truly mend.  Since this film does not discuss religious matters, we have to look at how one can experience this kind of situation from a different perspective.  So often we can see God at work in our lives through the actions of others.  In this way, James’ treatment of Lynsey is Christ-like in many respects.  He offers her a ride when they are practically strangers, is respectful of her feelings, and opens his house to her when her own proves unreliable.  To give without a thought of needing anything in return is to be like Jesus.  When we can encounter such unconditional love, it does a great deal to help us with whatever ails us.  This behavior is clinched when we see him forgive her in the end.  As usual, there are aspects of this comparison that make it far from perfect, but God can work through anything.

Despite the aspects of Causeway that make it less than perfect, I found it to be a compelling story.  It is always good to witness someone realize how truly blessed they are, especially when they are dealing with trauma from which they desperately wish to heal.  Seeing that process play out is also worth your while, even if the plot moves a little slowly.