The Powerful, Uplifting True Story Behind Kate Mara’s War Movie ‘Megan Leavey’ (2024)

Megan Leavey is an uplifting film that tells the story of a young Marine corporal, Megan Leavey (Kate Mara) who develops a bond with Rex (Varco), a dual-certified working dog (meaning Rex was used for both bomb detection and patrol). They work together for two deployments in Iraq, where they are both injured by a bomb. Leavey is awarded medals, and, at the end of the film, Leavey successfully fights to adopt Rex after his bomb-sniffing days end. The film is based on a true story, and for the most part sticks to it, but as is the case in most films based on a true story, Megan Leavey also embellishes (or outright ignores) the facts.

Megan Leavey (2017)

PG-13

Megan Leavey is a biographical war drama based on the true story of a young Marine corporal (played by Kate Mara) whose unique bond with her military combat dog saves many lives during their deployment in Iraq.

Release Date

June 9, 2017

Cast

Kate Mara , Ramon Rodriguez , Tom Felton , Bradley Whitford , Edie Falco , Will Patton , Common

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Runtime

116 minutes

Main Genre

Biopic

Why Does Megan Leavey Join the Marines?

At the start of Megan Leavey, Leavey is devastated after she loses her job and her best friend dies of a drug overdose. She turns to the Marine Corps to escape her life at home, a decision that doesn't sit well with her parents, played by Bradley Whitford and Edie Falco, who desperately try to talk her out of it, worried that their only child is putting her life in danger by joining the military. Her decision to join the Marines was far less personal in real life, but devastating all the same. She was motivated to join after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Leavey says, "I just couldn't sit on the sidelines as a spectator watching the fight for freedom unfold on television, and if I'm going to join the service, I'm going to aim for the highest and the best: the Marine Corps." Why the filmmakers changed the narrative on that is unclear, perhaps simply not wanting to bring the long shadow of the event into what is ultimately an inspirational tale. It is true, however, that Leavey's parents did try to change her mind. She kept her enlistment a secret so as not to worry them, but her mother found the Marine Corps pamphlets shortly after.

Whatever the reason, the next part of the film is also true... kind of. Leavey is assigned to Camp Pendleton, and gets into trouble pretty quickly. As punishment, she's sent to clean the cages of the K-9 bomb detector dogs, where she meets Rex for the first time, an aggressive German Shepherd that intimidates her. After successfully petitioning the head of the K-9 unit, Sargeant Gunny Martin, for a transfer to his team, Leavey is eventually, and unhappily, assigned Rex, and while it takes time for the two to bond, their relationship develops into a true partnership.

In reality, Leavey was already part of the military police, applied to the K-9 unit, and was partnered with Rex right away. If, as in the film, she wanted to transfer to a different unit, it is far more difficult than simply appealing to the head of that unit (which is a composite character in the film, played by Common). Likewise, unless you're already in the K-9 unit, you wouldn't be punished to clean their kennels, meaning their chance meeting would have been near impossible. As for Rex, his portrayal as a mean-spirited, aggressive dog had veterans that knew him in real life up in arms. Rex's handler prior to Leavey, Joe Kang, told the cited Task and Purpose, “Megan is my friend, but the film is full of s**t. Rex was the best dog in the kennel. He was perfect. And now the film makes him look like a piece of s**t.”

'Megan Leavey' Shows the Horrors of the War in Iraq

In all, Leavey and Rex completed over 100 missions together over two separate deployments, one in Fallujah in 2005, and the other in 2006 in Ramadi. Megan Leavey can only touch on so much of that history, given the time constraints and the film's focus on what happens in the years following, but they do capture the pivotal moment where Leavey and Rex are wounded in the line of duty. That event happened on September 5, 2006, during one of their missions on their Ramadi deployment. The film may have taken some dramatic license, substituting a heavy firefight in lieu of some small arms fire (as per the previously cited Task and Purpose), but the explosion, an IED detonation that flung them a good ten feet in the air, certainly did occur. Leavey, knocked unconscious, had a severe concussion, one that resulted in bleeding from her ears, and would result in hearing loss, brain trauma, and PTSD. Rex suffered neurological damage, and an injury to his shoulder.

Her insistence on continuing the mission would earn Leavey the Purple Heart, as it did in the film. What isn't seen in the film is how it was stolen while Leavey was in rehab back at Camp Pendleton (she would be presented a replacement when she and Rex were honored at Yankee Stadium in 2012). Also not shown is the bounty of additional medals awarded to Leavey, including the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, and the National Defense Medal, among others. Leavey was discharged from the Marines in December 2007, opting not to reenlist, but her application to adopt Rex was denied, as he was still deemed able to be in service. It's the next battle that would occupy Leavey for years.

When Does Megan Leavey Reunite With Rex?

The balance of the film depicts the years following Leavey's discharge and 2012, when she was finally reunited with Rex. While it doesn't get all the details right, the events play out on film as they did in real life. Upon learning that 10-year-old Rex was going to be put down by the military, after not being able to perform his bomb-sniffing duties because of facial palsy, Leavey's efforts to adopt him ramped up. In the film, Leavey meets New York Senator Charles Schumer (Andrew Masset) and petitions his help in getting Rex back to her. The reality is a touch more convoluted, with more players involved.

Leavey contacted Jerry Donnellan, a man who works on veteran causes in Rockland, New York. He contacted Schumer's staff, who informed Schumer, who, in turn, sent a letter to Michael B. Donley, Secretary of the Air Force. The letter spoke of the bond between Leavey and Rex and urged the Air Force to finally let Leavey adopt Sargeant Rex. The film also leaves out the contributions of New York Yankees owners Randy and Mandy Levine, who backed up Leavey's efforts and agreed to pay for all of Rex's medical expenses he would need for the rest of his life.

The tearful reunion didn't need any Hollywood touches, and Megan Leavey lets that moment breathe, with the emotion, joy, and relief that came with the actual event in 2012. Following a ceremony at Camp Pendleton that marked the end of Rex's ten-year service, a military tenure of more than 11,575 hours of military support and 6,220 searched vehicles, Leavey brought Rex home. The film ends with the aforementioned ceremony at Yankee Stadium before showing home movies of Leavey and Rex together, and before a title card indicating that Rex passed away the morning of December 22, 2012.

Megan Leavey is available to watch on Netflix in the U.S.

WATCH ON NETFLIX