John Lithgow’s performance is at the heart of the movie, and at the heart of his work is the way he smokes a cigarette or avoids looking anyone in the eye. It is a largely physical performance, based on pain and inarticulate depression (…). The movie ends with all sorts of statistics about the plight and condition of Vietnam veterans, but if it had ended with father and son able to simply talk about how they felt, the message might have been stronger. John Ebert

Certaines séquences (dont la seconde scène ferroviaire) sont stupides, mais l’ensemble (dont Kerrie Keane) mérite un peu d’attention, le sujet n’ayant rien de facile, surtout peu de temps après la guerre du Vietnam. Pas si mal, en somme.