Hollywood just loves movies about war and soldiers, there’s no denying that. Some of the most notable spectacles of the American cinema are military-centered – Apocalypse Now, The Thin Red Line, or Saving Private Ryan. However, most of the time the films focus on the horrors of the war or the trauma – either physical or mental – soldiers gain during their time in service. Triple Frontier, while focusing mostly on the heist the characters carry out and the following survival mode, hints about some of the other issues and experiences (ex-)soldiers go through. It touches upon the foundation of military friendships and the socioeconomic situation after returning to civilian life.

The coveted friendships

In almost every war movie or TV series produced within the American context, apart from the horrors of war, the biggest focus is always on the friendships between the troops – be it the world wars or more contemporary ones of the 1990s and the 21st century. And how can it not be? After all, a part of the complex experience a soldier takes away from the war is “an experience of human closeness that they can’t easily find back home” (Junger) which they encounter with fellow soldiers:

[I]n each case, the group numbers between 30 and 50 individuals, they sleep in a common area, they conduct patrols, they are completely reliant on one another for support, comfort, and defense, and they share a group identity that most would risk their lives for. Personal interest is subsumed into group interest because personal survival is not possible without group survival.

(Junger)

With this in mind, it is not hard to understand the ride-or-die friendship between the characters in Triple Frontier, and more importantly the trust they place on one another. When Santiago begins recruiting his former brothers to help him with his plan, he keeps hearing arguments similar to this one:

WILLIAM: Who else do you have?

SANTIAGO: I came to you first.

WILLIAM: If you can get Redfly, I’ll do it. . . . Get the captain, I’m in.

(00:15:36-00:16:05)

The conversation and the use of nicknames indicates that the characters have quite a lot of shared history. William doesn’t only want Redfly in because of his skills but also because of some shared experience that qualified him to trust him with his plans and also possibly with his life. This is also supported by the use of the rank “captain” which may be a reference to Redfly’s real rank but also to the symbolism of him being their obvious leader. Such relationship between the characters confirm that “[t]here are ancient human behaviors in war—loyalty, inter-reliance, cooperation—that typify good soldiering and can’t be easily found in modern society” (Junger) which explains why Santiago went to his old military friends over anyone else.

While they encounter several problems during the heist, the trust between the characters begins to falter not because of the stress of the situation – which is something they are quite accustomed to – but because of the betrayal of these behaviors, especially by Redfly. He begins to make his own gain a priority over the good of the entire team. He also shows signs of disturbing behavior when he fails to deescalate a conflict with local villagers which evolves into a shootout. The portrayal of the relationship between the characters is then a realistic one, and centers on their shared bond, a distinct code, and the consequences of breaking it.

Until the knees blow out

However, their shared bond and experiences in the military are not the only things that connect them even after re-joining the civilian life. They are also bound by the grievances, social or otherwise, they experience after leaving the army. There is the disconnected feeling which “isn’t so much that civilians don’t know what they went through— it’s unrealistic to expect anyone to fully understand another person’s experience—but that what they went through doesn’t seem relevant back home” (Junger). The grievances seem to stem out of it, and thus the feeling is the reason at least some of the characters agree to participate in the heist.

Out of the five main characters, only one of them is still in the military – Santiago. When he approaches Redfly, who is now selling apartments, with the plan, they have a discussion about the realities of life post-service. They talk about the lack of respect and financial benefits they encountered despite putting their lives on the line:

SANTIAGO: So. I guess you’ll just keep selling condos, and I’ll run and gun until my knees finally blow out.

REDFLY: Or you could do this without me.

SANTIAGO: I could, but I don’t wanna, ’cause I say we deserve better, man. How many times did we fly around with 20 million bucks at our feet to pay off some cockroach somewhere, and we never took a dime? Hell, you’ve been shot four times.

REDFLY: Five.

SANTIAGO: You’ve been shot five time for your country, and you can’t even afford a new truck. That’s the real crime.

(00:21:54-00:22:24)

Similarly, a third character, William, is seen in the beginning of the film giving a pep talk to young soldiers, motivating them to stay in service instead of going to private contractors.

WILLIAM: Your government has put a lot of time, money, and training into all of you, and it does not want to lose that investment. Over the next few weeks, you will be bombarded with offers to take your skill set and use them in the private sector. I was suckered into the same thing. That’s what I’m here to say, that I have never had a feeling as pure or proud as completing a mission with our flag on my shoulder. Stay where you belong.

(00:14:18-00:14:50)

As of 2017, there were a total of over 18,2 million veterans in the US, out of which over 16,5 million were males and over 1,6 million were females. The majority of them were employed or not listed in the labor force. As far as the number of unemployed people is concerned, in the age group 18-34, it was 81 thousand veterans, in the age group 35-54 it was 136 thousand veterans, and in the age group 55-64 it was 8 thousand veterans (check out the full statistics here.)

When compared to non-veteran population, the median income of the full-time employed veterans in 2017 is quite significantly higher. Male veterans earn almost 41 thousand dollars while male non-veterans are on 36 thousand dollars a year. With females, the disparity is even higher. While female veterans earn 35 thousand dollars, with non-veteran women, it is only 24 thousand dollars.

However, when we take a look at the poverty line, approximately 1,2 million veterans received income below poverty level in 2017. The highest percent of veterans earning below the line is in the age group 55-64 (10,2%), followed by the age group 18-34 (9,6%), the age group 35-54 (6,3%) and the age group 65+ (5,5%).

While there are many people in this demographic group that suffer from socioeconomic conditions, statistically speaking, their income is generally higher than that of non-veteran population. It could indicate that Triple Frontier did not select the best incentive – especially for Redfly, a middle-aged man with a family to support – to join the heist. This age group is by far not the one in which the biggest percentage of veterans earn an income below poverty line, and the ratio between employed and unemployed is among the lowest.

How much money is enough to die for?

However, with such a big focus on money and socioeconomic standing in the society, the film glosses over other significant issues veterans have to overcome, one of which is an extremely high rate of suicides. U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs state in their 2016 report that “[t]he number of Veteran suicides per year decreased from 6,281 deaths in 2015 to 6,079 deaths in 2016 . . . The number of Veteran suicides in 2016 remains greater than the 5,797 Veteran suicides that occurred in 2005” (4). What is more, veteran suicide rate was 1,5 times the rate for non-veteran population (5). As far as the age groups are concerned, they “are highest among younger male Veterans ages 18–34 and lowest among male Veterans ages 55–74” (7).

Mental health is generally a problematic area for the returning soldiers – the report by Center for Military Health Policy Research states that “[a]pproximately 18.5 percent of U.S. servicemembers who have returned from Afghanistan and Iraq currently have post-traumatic stress disorder or depression; and 19.5 percent report experiencing a traumatic brain injury during deployment” (1).

Out of the five characters in the film, none of them seems to suffer from a mental illness or PTSD. However, Redfly seems to have some sort of a manic episode during the raid on the house. He sees the heaps of money hidden everywhere he snaps and tries to hoard as much of it in the bags which costs them valuable time and potentially the lives of his teammates. This episode served its purpose in the character arc and in the narrative of the movie. But given the prevalence and sensitivity of the issue, it would have been better if the movie highlighted mental health problems veterans often suffer from. Instead of creating a money-lusting maniac, the film could have explored the thread it subtly introduced earlier in the film. It showed Redfly’s utter apathy at work and his hinted inability/unwillingness to keep a job which possibly indicated the presence of depression, and thus complete the look at the life of veterans after returning to civilian life.

TL;DR:  Triple Frontier offers a different outlook on the military – not on the horrors of war and heroism of soldiers but on what happens to them when they the army. It portrays the relationship between the ex-soldiers well, pointing to the fact that they not only share experience but also a bond created by the army and its principles and code. The film also addresses the financial ad social aspect of the ex-military life; however, by putting too much focus on money, it misses the opportunity to address the issue of mental health problems among veterans.        

Don’t have enough of Triple Frontier? Then read the review of the movie.

“Old-fashioned” sources:

• Triple Frontier. Dir. J. C. Chandor. Perf. Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund, and Pedro Pascal. Netflix, 2019. Netflix.