Johnny Got His Gun

A veteran theater director, Rowan Joseph adapted Dalton Trumbo’s antiwar novel into an Off Broadway play in 1982. If you’re still kicking yourself for missing that production, then this film is for you—and only you. Joseph re-creates his 26-year-old triumph, this time with The O.C. actor Ben McKenzie reciting a WWI quadriplegic’s inner monologues on a bare stage. It’s less a cinematic take on the material than a document of the director’s own past; considering Trumbo’s stunning 1971 movie of his own book, you’ll wonder what this is supposed to accomplish besides feeding one artist’s narcissism.