Thursday, October 25, 2018

Indivisible- A Military Wife's Perspective

Movie theaters are not really my thing.  My family loves them, but me, not so much.  On the other hand, when I can watch a movie, especially one for review, in the comfort of my house, I am usually game.  After I heard about Indivisible being a "military" movie but more about the family and not just a shoot 'em up type movie, I was intrigued.


Indivisible is a faith based movie based on the true life story of Army chaplain Darren Turner and his wife, Heather.  Shortly after basic training, Darren is sent to Iraq to support a unit deployed there and is separated from his wife and three young children. Heather is left behind at home to "support" the spouses there. While the movie does depict the experiences the chaplain has while in Iraq, it is primarily a movie about his relationship with his family prior to and then following his deployment. It is also a movie about a crisis of faith, of questioning God, and fighting for a marriage that has been strained by the separation and stress of a war.

Thoughts-

If you have been around Family Faith and Fridays for any length of time now, you know I am pretty careful about recommending movies.  I know everyone has different tastes and tolerance levels, therefore, I try to give you just the facts and a quick personal thought or two.  Unless a movie is just horrible, I do not ever want to assume what I like or dislike would be how you would feel as well.

That being said, I think Indivisible is a solid movie.  It is well done, has solid acting in it, and is not your typical sappy, faith-based movie.  The scenes are believable and the story is good.  It is based on a real life person, after all.

It was also hard for me to watch at times.  As a military wife who has had a husband deployed several times, it hit pretty close to home.  While I cannot tell you about my husband's experiences, I can tell you about mine.  The loneliness, the fear, and at times, the desperation Heather felt, I have experienced.  The way your heart skips a beat when your doorbell rings at odd times and the heartache of standing by a friend who has lost a spouse has been my reality.  So while the war scenes did not tug at my heart as much (yes, I did close my eyes during one intense part), the scenes back at home gripped my heart.  I can tell you the things you see the wives talk about and think are indeed things many military spouses through the years have thought about and said. 

Because of my perspective as a military wife, it is those scenes that I identified with the most.  But this movie also allowed me to see deployment from a different perspective- through the eyes of a man who is also experiencing the same separation but with different stresses and realities.  It opened my eyes to a whole different side of the husband wife relationship that is affected by war.  It also reminded me that my faith in God has undoubtedly carried me through our deployments.  God has used them to stretch us and grow us and ultimately pull us closer together.  May he get the glory!

Yes, my retired military husband watched the movie with me.  While he enjoyed the movie, he did have several critiques about it to include questionable uniform details as well as military protocol details.  Several times he said, "they would not have done that."  Trust me when I say this is not the first time I have heard that while watching a military movie.  

I would encourage you to go see Indivisible.  But I would also add this disclaimer- those who are sensitive to war issues need to be aware there are a few intense battle scenes, a scene with an injured child, and a death of a squadron member.  I would be concerned for anyone with PTSD to see it.  As a family who has lived just a tiny part of this life, I would be hesitant for my 16 year old son or my 20 year old daughter to watch it.

If you are looking for a faith based movie, minus the fluff, but big in the reality of war and military life, Indivisible will be one you enjoy.

Starring Sarah Drew, Justin Bruening, Jason George, Tia Mowry, and Madeline Carroll, INDIVISIBLE opens in theaters October 26. 


In case you haven't seen the trailer, here you go!

I have two Fandango movie codes to give away to a Family, Faith and Fridays reader.  Just leave me a comment here on the blog and tell me what is the last movie you saw in a theater.  A random winner will be chosen next Monday!

“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255:  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”):  Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller /FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days on the same blog, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

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