Sorties-Cinema - Megan Leavey: a powerful celebration about a combat dog hero

Par Mulder, 08 juin 2017

Twenty-year old Megan Leavey (Kate Mara), aimless and unhappy, leaves her home and mother Jackie (Edie Falco) in upstate New York in 2003 to join the Marines. After completing boot camp, Megan attends military police school at Camp Pendleton in San Diego. While cleaning up kennels for the K9 unit as punishment for a night of misbehavior, Megan becomes fascinated with the “working dogs” trained to sniff out explosives in war zones. She joins the K9 division and is assigned to take on an unruly German shepherd named Rex. Mentored by the gruff Sergeant Gunny Martin (Common), Megan gradually gains Rex’s trust and forges a bond of uncommon depth.

Megan and Rex are deployed to Iraq, where she learns the ropes from fellow dog handler Matt Morales (Ramón Rodríguez). Putting her life at risk as one of the first women to operate in an active combat zone in Fallujah and Ramadi, Leavey completes more than 100 missions with Rex, who sniffs out a massive cache of weapons hidden in a terrorist’s home and detects numerous roadside bombs. During their second deployment in 2006, enemy forces outside Ramadi detonate a remote-controlled land mine that injures Megan and Rex in battle. In the ensuing firefight, Rex helps protect the troops risking his life multiple times so Megan can be taken by helicopter for emergency medical treatment.

Megan suffers ruptured eardrums and memory loss, but most of all, she’s devastated by the fact that Rex is no longer by her side. She returns to civilian life with a Purple Heart and a new mission: to reunite with her canine partner, officially classified as “unadoptable” because of his combat-induced trauma. Encouraged by her father Bob (Bradley Whitford), Megan starts a campaign to raise awareness of her goal to adopt Rex, which gains the attention of Senator Chuck Schumer. Senator Schumer then assists Megan in the biggest fight of her life: to give Rex a loving home. Based on the true story of two war veterans, Megan Leavey celebrates the unbreakable connection between a brave Marine and her best friend.

Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite (Blackfish, City Lax: An Urban Lacrosse Story) from a screenplay by Pamela Gray (A Walk on the Moon, Conviction) and Annie Mumolo (Bridesmaids, Joy) & Tim Lovestedt (Space Cops, Tupperware), Megan Leavey stars Kate Mara (“House of Cards,” The Martian), Ramón Rodríguez (“The Wire,” Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), Tom Felton (Harry Potter franchise, Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Bradley Whitford (“The West Wing,” “Transparent”), Will Patton (Armageddon, Remember the Titans), Sam Keeley (Burnt, This Must Be the Place), with Common (Selma, John Wick: Chapter 2) and Edie Falco (“The Sopranos,” “Nurse Jackie”).

The film is produced by Mickey Liddell (The Grey, Jackie), Jennifer Monroe (Disconnect, Jackie) and Pete Shilaimon (Risen, Anthropoid). Executive producers are Robert Huberman (Risen, Aloha), Scott Holroyd (Jacob’s Ladder, Risen), José Luis Escolar (“The Night Manager,” Cloud Atlas), and Nicole Stojkovich (Forever My Girl). Director of photography is Lorenzo Senatore (The Fourth Kind, Risen). Production designer is Ed Verreaux (Looper, Jurassic World). Costume design by David Tabbert (Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Jinx). Music by Mark Isham (Crash, A River Runs Through It).

Synopsis:
Based on the true life story of a young Marine corporal whose unique discipline and bond with her military combat dog saved many lives during their deployment in Iraq. Megan Leavey is a former US Marine corporal who served as a Military Police K9 handler. She grew up in Valley Cottage, New York. Leavey enlisted in the Marines in 2003 and was stationed at Camp Pendleton, California, where she was paired with military working dog Rex (E168). The pair served two deployments in Iraq together. They were first deployed to Fallujah in 2005, and then to Ramadi in 2006, where they were both wounded by an Improvised explosive device. Leavey was awarded the Purple Heart and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with a "V" device denoting heroism in combat. In 2012, Rex developed facial palsy, which ended his bomb-sniffing duties. Leavey later adopted him through the intervention of Senator Chuck Schumer. Rex died on December 22, 2012.

Megan Leavey
Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Produced by Mickey Liddell, Jennifer Monroe, Pete Shilaimon
Written by Pamela Gray, Annie Mumolo, Tim Lovestedt, Jordan Roberts
Starring Kate Mara, Ramón Rodríguez, Tom Felton, Bradley Whitford, Will Patton, Sam Keeley, Common and Edie Falco

(Source: press Production Notes Final)