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'The Yellow Birds'

U.S. Dramatic; 120 minutes.

Given everything that the Iraq War drama "The Yellow Birds" has going for it — like a strong cast, a script co-written by David Lowery, and director Alexandre Moors' arresting visuals — it's oddly surprising how dramatically inert it is.

Moors follows the lives of two buddies in an Army unit in Iraq. In boot camp and at the start of their deployment, shy rookie Daniel Murphy (Tye Sheridan) and the slightly more seasoned Brandon Bartle (Alden Ehrenreich) are inseparable, and the favorites of their mentor, SSgt. Sterling (Jack Huston).

Then Murphy disappears. His well-connected mother, Maureen (Jennifer Aniston), tirelessly lobbies the Army to divulge more information. Bartle comes home, but his moodiness frustrates his mom, Amy (Toni Collette). Meanwhile, an Army investigator (Jason Patric) seeks out Bartle to learn what really happened to Murphy.

Moors, who directed the unsettling D.C. sniper drama "Blue Caprice," gets emotional performances from Aniston and Collette, and shows why Sheridan and Ehrenreich are stars in the making. Moors also creates striking and poetic images that capture the chaos of war — even if the opening sequence evokes memories of the slow-motion destruction of "Apocalypse Now."

But the central mystery of Murphy's fate, on which the movie's conclusion rests, turns out to be inconsequential. The script by Lowery and "Blue Caprice" writer R.F.I Porto (adapting Kevin Powers' novel) goes into unnecessarily lurid detail on a scenario the audience could have pretty well guessed anyway. After such a promising set-up, "The Yellow Birds" ends with a fizzle.

— Sean P. Means —

Also showing:

"The Yellow Birds" screens again at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival at the following times and venues:

• Sunday, Jan. 22, 6 p.m., Sundance Mountain Resort Screening Room

• Monday, Jan. 23, 3:30 p.m., Redstone Cinema 1, Park City

• Thursday, Jan. 26, 6 p.m., Temple Theatre, Park City

• Friday, Jan. 27, 3:15 p.m., Library Center Theatre, Park City

• Saturday, Jan. 28, 3:15 p.m., The Grand Theatre, Salt Lake City