Excellent, though a bit long. The drugs are a stand-in for the sickness and evil coming from a sick and evil war, as if the returning soldiers were the carriers of a contagious pathogen that reinfects the American host. Michael Moriarty stands out in his role as the war-avoiding husband who might be losing his wife to the ex-soldier played by a dynamic Nolte, and it's striking that Karel Reisz directed this relatively unknown piece, which may explain why it is so much more profoundly engaging than the crowd-pleaser, Coming Home,.with Tom Cruise playing Ron Kovic. Sometimes the best movies seem like daring experiments on the part of their directors, and this one is a credit to the vision and courage of Karel Reisz. The movie feels flawed on some level, but life itself is similarly imperfect and a theatrical narrative that so effectively communicates that rough-edged intensity brings a gripping experience of hyper-reality to the audience.. .