A BRAVE FIRST EFFORT TO PORTRAY THE IRAQ WAR ON SCREEN.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

The first major feature film about the Iraq War, ``Home of the Brave'' deserves a pass because it ain't half bad and, well, it's the first feature about the Iraq War.

More precisely, it's about vets of that war readjusting to civilian life, although director Irwin Winkler does stage a fairly impressive firefight early in the film. And that sequence is the first indication that ``HOTB'' might have a little more going for it than most of the movies the distinguished producer (``Raging Bull,'' ``Rocky,'' ``GoodFellas'') has chosen to direct himself (``Life as a House'' and ``De-Lovely'' were the last two).

It's neither the most intense nor innovative combat sequence, but it certainly puts us in the boots of terrified National Guard soldiers ambushed in a sun-parched Iraq town (shooting in Morocco, ``Howards End's'' elegant cinematographer Tony Pierce-Roberts gets crisp, clear battle images using Viper HD video cameras). And the sequence is not just there to throttle our guts; its consequences resonate all the way back to leafy Spokane, Wash., where the survivors try to fit back into what they used to think of as home.

That's where the script, written by Winkler and first-timer Mark Friedman, checks off its long list of homages to ``The Best Years of Our Lives'' and (minus the partisan hectoring) Oliver Stone.

The main attitude ``HOTB'' shares with all returning-vet movies is that civilians just don't get what the soldiers have been through, and this explains (and excuses) all kinds of antisocial behavior. A big chunk of this is bluntly, sometimes awkwardly, expressed and predictable. But there's always a very contemporary, unexpected and/or winningly revealing scene around the bend from every overacted cliche.

Samuel L. Jackson is a doctor who is trying to drink away his post-traumatic stress; it's not working, of course. Jessica Biel, in her most complex and natural screen performance to date, is a single mom who lost a hand in that firefight. Newcomer Brian Presley plays a guy who lost his best friend over there and subsequently can't generate enough interest in anything he ought to be doing here. And Curtis ``50 Cent'' Jackson's haunted character has double woman trouble: he accidentally shot one in Iraq, and his girl back home now wants nothing to do with him.

Biel has the film's best scenes, such as a warmly funny first attempt to make love in her new condition and an unexpected meeting with a fellow vet in which the main topic of conversation is V.A.-issued anti-depressants. Sam Jackson has both over-

the-top and incisive moments, and although the movie avoids taking a political stand, his conversations with his resentful, anti-war son (``Smallville's'' Sam Jones III) cover most of the relevant arguments.

And there's a lot of filler, hysteria and, of course, nightmare flashbacks between the good scenes. All of which is probably realistic, but not enough to lend ``Home of the Brave'' the depth and gravity its subject deserves. That will come in future Iraq War films, of which there are sure to be many. Let's just call this one a decent, well-meaning start.

Bob Strauss, [phone]

[e-mail]

HOME OF THE BRAVE - Three stars

(R: violence, language, drug use, sex)

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel, Curtis ``50 Cent'' Jackson, Brian Presley, Victoria Rowell, Sam Jones III.

Director: Irwin Winkler.

Running time: 1 hr. 45 min.

Playing: ArcLight, Hollywood; Century 15, Century City.

In a nutshell: Four returning Iraq War veterans deal with physical and psychological traumas. About evenly balanced between standard readjustment cliches and moving, specific insights, and between compelling moments and overacted outbursts.

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Samuel L. Jackson plays a doctor trying to drink away his post-traumatic stress in ``Home of the Brave.''