Centered around a decorated U.S. Army medic returning home after 15 months in Afghanistan, “Fort Bliss” is a powerful addition to the growing subgenre of films about veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The distinction of “Fort Bliss” is that its protagonist, a veteran, is a single mother who comes home to discover that her relationship with her 5-year-old son is broken and her son’s new mom is her ex-husband’s fiancée. After an intense opening scene that illustrates the brutality of war and the immense challenges an Army medic faces, the remainder of the film shows Sergeant Maggie Swann (Michelle Monaghan) fighting to regain her son’s love and adapting to life at home.

After a long career of playing mostly supporting roles and love interests, and recently going toe-to-toe with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in “True Detective,” Monaghan soars as the film’s lead. Monaghan, who appears in every scene, shows off her ability to play tough and strong, as well as vulnerable and damaged, sometimes all at the same time.

Maggie is the rare female character that struggles balancing work and family — the working mom that Maggie represents is relatable for mothers across the country. The fact that Maggie continues on the army base only heightens the importance of her job. The conflict of work and family is intensified in “Fort Bliss” because Maggie’s conflict is not only between family and work, but also between country and family. She knows that she is able to save American lives doing her job, but she must weigh the importance of those lives versus the importance of her relationship with her son.

Along with Maggie’s mother-son relationship, writer and director Claudia Myers has her protagonist navigate a number of other relationships throughout the film, allowing for some very fine supporting performances. Most notably, the ever-reliable Ron Livingston stands out as Maggie’s ex-husband, who sympathizes with Maggie but cannot understand how she can put her job above her son.

When Maggie takes her truck to the auto repair shop for a new battery, the film’s primary subplot develops as she strikes up a romance with the shop’s Mexican owner Luis. While Myers could have easily taken the romance into cheesy Lifetime territory — and sometimes it comes dangerously close — she is able to keep the trickiest element of the film feeling real. A strong performance by Colombian actor Manolo Cardona is essential.

While the film maintains an authentic feel throughout, one war movie cliché that Myers unfortunately could not resist is the slow motion, somber scene that occurs a few times in “Fort Bliss”. But even that can be forgiven because of the strength of the film’s performances.

Despite a handful of exceptions, Iraq and Afghanistan war films have largely faltered at the box office, so it is unlikely and unfortunate that “Fort Bliss” will not be seen by a mainstream audience. Myers, who has worked extensively with Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans over the past half-decade, has crafted a delicate and important film that deserves to be seen.

A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, Sept. 18 print edition. Email Jared Oliff-Lieberman at [email protected].