When I first saw the trailer for Taking Chance, I knew immediately that this was a movie I HAD to watch. I even went as far as to change my Dish Network package to include HBO just so I could watch this movie. As the date approached that it would be on TV, I debated about whether I wanted to watch it right away or leave it on my DVR until after my husband came back from Iraq. I decided that I would watch it right away. I had read the articles about Chance Phelps, so I thought I could handle the movie, I felt prepared.
I watched it during the day while my kids were at school. I sat on the couch with a large glass of water and a box of tissues, prepared to sob throughout the whole movie. I mean I cried through the trailer, I felt I needed to be ready for the entire movie. As I already mentioned, my husband was in Iraq during this time. On his previous tour we had lost some good friends. Both of us were very close to the situation. I knew that watching this movie would open up a floodgate of emotions; I hoped it would provide some healing for me or at least allow me to shed some of the tears I had not allowed to flow freely in over 3 years.
Immediately in the opening I was brought to tears, watching the notification. I have close friends who have lost their Soldiers in Iraq and watching that moment was very hard. I could go on and on about what this movie did for me in my healing process. I could talk about how hard it was to watch the ramp ceremony and think about my husband doing the same thing over 7000 miles away because he has, more times then I know he would care to admit. I won’t break down piece by piece how this movie has caused me to relive some of the hardest moments in our Military career or in our lives ever.
What I liked about this movie, what I feel made it “real” and captured an aspect of our lifestyle that no one likes to talk about, one that is pretty taboo in our community, is that someone cared enough about the details. This movie was about details and they weren’t willing to compromise. It was about the Honor and sense of Duty so many of our men and women feel.
I don’t feel that this movie was all talk, it was about action. It showed the sacrifices our Military is making in life and in duty. It is about honoring those who have paid the price and the honor they deserve. The journey…every detail of the journey home is important. Our fallen might be a 10 second byline flashed across a television screen but for the many who this directly affects it’s so much more. I feel this movie really displayed that. I think that often America is sometimes removed from what is going on and the sacrifices being made by our Military. This movie shows those who take the time to watch it what it is all about. From the wife saying goodbye and wondering what it’s about, to the real emotions of everyone who came in contact with the deceased, those in uniform and those not.
To me this movie captured emotions that are hard to describe, but it got them right. This movie was very personal to me. I do read the casualty announcements on the Department of Defense website every single day. It’s the least I can do to honor those who have paid the price. And this movie was an amazing inside look on what happens to those whose names end up there. I did cry through the whole movie, LCPL Phelps’ legacy was worth every tear shed.
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