Harsh Times 2006

A hard-edged, character-driven thriller that tracks a troubled veteran as his quest for love and stability spirals into violence.

Former U.S. Army Ranger and GWOT veteran Jim Davis returns to Los Angeles with a heavy burden of PTSD and a clear, risky goal: to marry Marta and bring her to the United States to start a life together. He reconnects with his best friend, Mike Alonzo, whose longtime girlfriend Sylvia is an ambitious attorney frustrated by his unemployment after his previous job was outsourced. Sylvia pushes Mike to help Jim land a new position, while Jim offers whatever help he can to prop up his friend’s prospects. The plan is simple, but the path is anything but easy.

After Jim fails a psychological profile for a LAPD position, the night takes a chaotic turn. He and Mike bond over drink, visit Jim’s ex, and are drawn into a violent confrontation when her current boyfriend arrives with a crew. Jim holds his ground, and when Mike produces a gun, they end up robbing the men of possessions, including marijuana and a handgun. To cover their tracks, Jim starts leaving their would-be employers fake voicemail responses from different companies, a tactic that briefly lifts Sylvia’s mood and seems to stabilize things—at least for a moment. The pair even go to a paisa bar to test a potential gun sale, but the situation spirals when a buyer is killed, leaving Mike unsettled and Jim oddly exhilarated by the turn of events.

Back home, Mike returns to a tempestuous Sylvia, who discovers the garbled voicemail implausibly implying success. The fallout is harsh: Sylvia ejects Mike, and he ends up crashing at Jim’s place. Jim’s professional life takes another hit when he is shortlisted for a Homeland Security post, only to fail a urine test and then a final polygraph question about drug use. His only viable option becomes a government contact in Colombia who admires Jim’s willingness to “get things done.” Jim accepts the assignment, warned against marrying a foreigner, and instructed to report to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC).

Mike later visits Sylvia with news of a real job secured through an old contact, easing their tensions as they reconnect physically. Jim shows up and casually drops the bomb that Mike is heading to Mexico for a long weekend, despite Sylvia’s objections. The plan pushes ahead with Mike in tow as Jim and their associate Toussant head south for a party where Marta reveals she is pregnant. The moment unsettles Jim, who contemplates drastic violence, threatening to harm Marta, a threat that Mike quickly defuses by insisting they leave.

The truth of Jim’s descent becomes brutal when he confesses to Mike that he is transporting a large quantity of marijuana—20 kilograms. When Mike objects, Jim’s self-control snaps, and he pulls a gun, only to collapse under his own fear of what he’s becoming. The two agree to proceed with the drug deal, discovering one of the buyers is the same man they robbed earlier. A gunfight erupts, and the attackers are killed; Jim and Mike flee as a bystander fires on their car, wounding Jim in the back and face and leaving him paralyzed. In a final, devastating moment, Jim implores Mike to “step up” and end his suffering, and Mike fulfills that plea, killing Jim. Reunited with Sylvia, Mike embraces her, but the moment is heartbreakingly heavy as he breaks down beneath the weight of what he has done.