Fray 2012

Justin [Bryan Kaplan] is a United States Marine who has returned home after five tours of duty, having seen combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Life back home isn’t much easier; he spends his days doing cleanup work at a lumber mill and tending to his injured leg in a sparsely furnished apartment. He attends classes at a nearby community college as he works to build a life beyond his military service. A romance begins with a young instructor Cheri Marisa Costa, but Justin finds navigating commitment to be challenging. Paul Wes Harris, his boss at the mill, is an old veteran who offers help, but Justin has trouble accepting it.

Thanks to spotty work hours in a difficult economy, Justin is perpetually late with his rent, straining his relationship with the landlord Bob Olin. The difficulties in readjusting to home life leave him yelling at noises from the neighbors or escaping into the woods for a little quiet time. When he gets news that some of his buddies overseas have died in battle, he retreats into the woods as if to disappear there. Still, Cheri and Paul continue their efforts to break through.

Throughout it all, the film traces how a man tries to reclaim ordinary rhythms while bearing the invisible weight of war, with smaller moments of hope tucked between the strains of daily life.