Megan Leavey (film)
Megan Leavey (also known as Rex)[3] is a 2017 American biographical drama film directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite and written by Pamela Gray, Annie Mumolo, and Tim Lovestedt, based on the true events about a young female Marine named Megan Leavey and a combat dog named Rex. The film stars Kate Mara as the titular character, with Edie Falco, Common, Ramón Rodríguez, and Tom Felton in supporting roles.
| Megan Leavey | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Gabriela Cowperthwaite |
| Produced by |
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| Written by |
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| Starring | |
| Music by | Mark Isham |
| Cinematography | Lorenzo Senatore |
| Edited by | Peter McNulty |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Bleecker Street |
Release date |
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Running time | 116 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $14.5 million[2] |
The film was released on June 9, 2017, by Bleecker Street, received positive reviews and grossed $14 million.
Plot
Megan Leavey is a US Marine corporal who served as a Military Police K9 handler. 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 was able to adopt him through the intervention of Senator Chuck Schumer, around April 2012. Rex died on December 22, 2012.[4]
Cast
- Kate Mara as Corporal Megan Leavey[5]
- Edie Falco as Jackie Leavey, Megan's mother.[6]
- Common as Gunnery Sergeant Martin
- Ramón Rodríguez as Corporal Matt Morales[7]
- Tom Felton as Andrew Dean, a veteran dog handler.[8]
- Damson Idris[9] as Michael Forman
- Shannon Tarbet[9] as Barb
- Bradley Whitford[9] as Bob Leavey, Megan's father.
- Alex Hafner[9] as ECP Sgt Sanders
- Will Patton[9] as Jim
- Parker Sawyers[9] as Actor
- Corey Weaver[9] as Bartender
- Geraldine James as Dr. Turbeville
- Sam Keeley as Sills
- Corey Johnson as Master Sergeant
- Corporal Megan Leavey as Female Drill Instructor #3
- Phil Dunster as Coletta
Production
On August 7, 2015, it was announced that Gabriela Cowperthwaite would be directing a film about a heroine Megan Leavey and her military combat dog Rex.[5] The script was written by Pamela Gray, with the help of Annie Mumolo, Tim Lovestedt, and Jordan Roberts. LD Entertainment would produce the film.[5]
Principal photography on the film began on October 12, 2015 in Charleston, South Carolina.[10][11] It was partially filmed at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina; Rome, Georgia and in Spain.[12]
Release
In January 2017, Bleecker Street acquired distribution rights to the film and set it for release on June 9, 2017.[13]
Reception
Box office
Megan Leavey was released alongside It Comes at Night and The Mummy and was expected to gross around $3 million from 1,956 theaters in its opening weekend.[16] It ended up grossing $3.8 million, finishing 8th at the box office.[17]
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 87% based on 99 reviews, with an average rating of 6.82/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Megan Leavey honors its real-life subjects with a sensitive, uplifting drama whose honest emotion more than makes up for its mild approach to the story."[18] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has average score 66 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[19] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[17]
Awards
Megan Leavey was among the 2017 films which were honored with the Truly Moving Picture Award at the Heartland Film Festival.
References
- "Megan Leavey". AMC Theatres. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
- "Megan Leavey". The Numbers. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- "Rex". booktopia.com.au. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- "Beloved Bomb-Sniffing Dog Who Retired To Live With Marine Handler Dies". CBS New York. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
- Barraclough, Leo (August 7, 2015). "'House of Cards' Star Kate Mara to Play Iraq War Hero Megan Leavey". variety.com. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- Busch, Anita (October 7, 2015). "Edie Falco Set For Biopic 'Megan Leavey'". deadline.com. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 16, 2015). "Ramon Rodriguez Reports For Duty In Iraq War Hero Pic 'Megan Leavey'". deadline.com. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- Kit, Borys (October 22, 2015). "'Harry Potter' Actor Tom Felton Joins Kate Mara in Indie War Hero Drama (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
- Jaafar, Ali (November 9, 2015). "Damson Idris Joins Cast Of 'Megan Leavey' Opposite Kate Mara". deadline.com. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
- "Casting agency seeking extras for Kate Mara movie filming in Charleston". abcnews4.com. October 12, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- "On the Set for 10/16/15: 'Ab Fab: The Movie' & 'Planet of the Apes' Sequel Start Shooting While 'Star Trek Beyond' Wraps". ssninsider.com. October 16, 2015. Archived from the original on June 13, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- "Megan Leavey (2017)". Retrieved 25 June 2018 – via www.imdb.com.
- Lincoln, Ross A. "Kate Mara-Starring Iraq War Hero Biopic 'Megan Leavey' Gets Summer U.S. Release". Deadline. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
- Amazon.com: Megan Leavey (DVD). Retrieved September 13, 2017.
- Amazon.com: Megan Leavey (Blu-ray). Retrieved September 13, 2017.
- "Tom Cruise's 'The Mummy' faces tough box-office battle against 'Wonder Woman". Los Angeles Times. June 7, 2017.
- "'Wonder Woman' Soars On Saturday; 'Mummy' Still Crummy – Sunday AM Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. June 11, 2017.
- "Megan Leavey (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
- "Megan Leavey reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
External links
- Megan Leavey on IMDb