Plot
Billy Lynn, a 19-year-old US Army specialist from Texas, is caught on camera dragging mortally wounded, Sergeant Virgil "Shroom" Breem, to safety during an intense firefight in Iraq, on October 23, 2004. This act of courage earns Lynn the Silver Star, and ascends him and his unit, erroneously designated, "Bravo Squad" by the media, to celebrity status. They return to the U.S. for Shroom's funeral, then embark on a publicity tour, culminating at the halftime show of the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving home game. Led by Sergeant David Dime, the soldiers of Bravo Squad travel by limousine to the stadium, accompanied by Cowboys' PR representative, Josh, and film producer, Albert Brown, who is securing a film deal for the squad. A flashback reveals that Billy joined the army after destroying the car of his older sister Kathryn's ex-boyfriend, angry at him for leaving her after she was disfigured in a motor vehicle collision. The group is greeted at the stadium by fans who express gratitude for their actions in the Iraq War. During a press conference, Billy notices Cowboys Cheerleader, Faison, smiling at him. They flirt and he tells her it feels weird to be honored for the worst day of his life.
As the game starts, Billy recalls his time in Iraq, where Shroom had offered him karmic philosophical insight and advice during their downtime. Billy then receives a phone call from a psychiatrist, whom Kathryn had engaged to get Billy honorably discharged, and prevent his return to Iraq with the rest of Bravo Squad, who is scheduled to return to duty after the game. The loud music and pyrotechnics of the halftime show traumatize the unstable Sykes, who reacts violently with the stage manager and a security guard.
Billy experiences a flashback to the battle that made them famous. The squad was called in to rescue soldiers pinned down by insurgents at a school. Shroom is shot while advancing from cover, and Billy rushes to save him, firing on the insurgents with his sidearm. Billy drags Shroom into a trench and kills an insurgent at close range, in self-defense. Shroom bleeds to death before Billy can give medical aid. Billy is roused from the flashback, learning the halftime show has been over for a few minutes and he had been frozen in place the whole time. They are ushered off the stage and are diverted from a fight by cheerleaders, led by Faison. Billy takes her name and number on his cell phone, learning that her last name is Zorn, meaning 'anger'.
Billy and Dime meet with the owner of the Cowboys, Norm Oglesby, who is considering investing in Albert's film treatment, but instead of the $100,000 that Albert wanted, offers them $5,500 apiece. Dime angrily rebuffs the offer. Billy rejects Oglesby's confidential aside that the squad's story is no longer theirs, but belongs to the American people. Albert promises Billy that he will find investors, one way or another, and that their story deserves to be told "the right way."
Billy meets with Faison briefly as the squad leaves. He tells her he would abandon the squad to run away with her, but she rejects the idea, and they part with a kiss. Billy reunites with the squad, which is then attacked by security guards, triggering Billy's PTSD, filling his mind with surreal war imagery. The altercation is halted by a warning gunshot. Kathryn arrives to retrieve Billy and confirm his medical discharge, but he makes it clear he is redeploying with his squad, more out of belonging than duty. They part with a tearful hug.
Billy returns to the limo, hallucinating it as a Humvee. Inside he sees Shroom's familiar icon of Ganesha, and has a philosophical conversation with Shroom. Billy tells Shroom, "I love you," then returns to the reality of the Bravo Squad members in the limo, each of whom responds with "I love you."
