Neil Burger's follow-up to his accomplished period piece, THE ILLUSIONIST, is an affecting naturalistic modern drama. THE LUCKY ONES concerns three Iraq War soldiers who have just returned to the States: Fred Cheever (Tim Robbins) is out for good, and can't wait to reunite with his wife and son in St. Louis; T.K. Poole (Michael Pena) has suffered an embarrassing injury and is on his way to reconnecting with his fiancée before heading back overseas; and the also-injured Colee Dunn (Rachel McAdams) is on a mission to deliver a precious guitar to her deceased boyfriend's parents in Las Vegas. These strangers are brought together when JFK Airport is shut down indefinitely. Deciding that renting a car is a better option than twiddling their thumbs and waiting for the planes to fly, they hit the road on an eventful journey that will bring them closer together than they ever would have expected.

THE LUCKY ONES is both an entertaining road movie and a poignant work of social commentary. Like real life, it's both comic and dramatic. Burger and co-screenwriter Dirk Wittenborn aren't out to make any brash statements for or against the war. They simply want to make viewers think about what it must feel like to return home after having fought overseas. Robbins, Pena, and McAdams are as good as they've ever been. It is their committed performances that gives dimension to these characters and makes THE LUCKY ONES resonate so deeply.