Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Drama about war veterans has violence, suicide, language.
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The Drummer
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In THE DRUMMER, Mark Walker (Danny Glover) is an antiwar activist and lawyer who represents Iraq War veterans and provides a haven for activists through a coffee shop he runs called The Drummer. He works and lives in a military town in upstate New York, and his work is complicated by the fact that the George W. Bush Administration has called for a "surge" of troops to go to Iraq to fight, and many of these soldiers have already served more than one tour of duty and struggle with PTSD. Their struggles lead to drunk-driving accidents, mental health issues, and violence against themselves and loved ones. Walker starts to represent Cooper (Sam Underwood), a veteran struggling with PTSD who's considering a move to Canada with his wife and daughter rather than going back to Iraq, and Cori (Prema Cruz), a veteran who went AWOL after being sexually harassed and abused by a male soldier while her superiors did next to nothing. As Walker seeks justice for Cooper and Cori, he also seeks to recruit them and other returning Iraq War veterans to rebuild an antiwar movement similar to the one during the Vietnam War. Walker must soon contend with the fact that times have changed, and that what might be beneficial for the sake of public activism is likely to backfire against the veterans he's trying to help.
Is It Any Good?
This is a powerful, nuanced, provocative indie drama. The Drummer is a devastating story about frayed ideals and shattered illusions. It's set in an upstate New York military town in 2008 during "the surge" of troops sent to Iraq by the George W. Bush Administration as the public was turning against the Iraq War and news of degrading human rights abuses and war crimes were continuing to surface. The Drummer's main character is Mark Walker, a lawyer who represents Iraq War veterans suffering PTSD and seeking honorable discharges (or just a way to not be forced to serve yet another tour of duty) in spite of the crimes they've committed since returning home, including going AWOL and drunk driving. Walker, a Vietnam veteran with war traumas of his own, is masterfully played by Danny Glover, who, paired with the strength of the screenplay, reveals the struggle of a man who wants to evolve with the times and find a way to make the antiwar movement as relevant as it was during Vietnam, and who struggles with creating this ideal while also trying to do his job by serving the immediate needs of the veterans he represents.
The mix of weariness and hope in Glover's character is what works best in The Drummer, and does more than anything else in the movie to effectively capture the mood of 2008 among so many Americans. Glover's younger co-stars, Sam Underwood and Prema Cruz, also deliver incredible performances, both playing damaged Iraq War veterans struggling to pick up the pieces as they face bureaucratic indifference and orders to report for another tour of duty, even as they struggle to maintain their sanity. You'll agree or disagree with what the movie is saying, and there really isn't any in-between viewpoint, but no matter: The Drummer should provoke spirited discussion about war, antiwar, and the treatment of veterans.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the messages in The Drummer. What issues, themes, and topics does the movie address?
How did the movie show the struggles these characters faced: PTSD, traumatic memories, suicidal thoughts, and more?
Do you think the movie captured what it was really like for many who served in the Iraq War in the 2000s? Why, or why not?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : November 10, 2021
- Cast : Danny Glover , Sam Underwood , Prema Cruz
- Director : Eric Werthman
- Inclusion Information : Black Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : 1091 Pictures
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Activism , History
- Run time : 99 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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