But even if they clash over Boston’s lighter skin and his affectations, they did all end up in the same place for a reason. The men of the 24th wanted to serve the country that has never served them back. They thought that in uniform they’d get equal treatment. Instead, they get bullied, tormented, abused and disrespected by nearly every white person in town.

There are exceptions, including in Col. Norton (a miscast Thomas Haden Church, who sounds far too modern for the role), who oversees the men at Camp Logan, which they are bound to protect while it’s under construction. But one ally is hardly enough and he has very little power anyway.

The hard-drinking and jaded Sgt. Hayes (Mykelti Williamson) knows it’s a fool’s errand to assume they’ll get any respect or equality through service: He learned that the hard way as a Buffalo Solider leading the charge at San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War, as he explains in a stirring speech to Boston.

This is a difficult story in which violence and dehumanization beget violence and dehumanization. It is sobering material that Willmott mostly handles well in making it as straightforward as possible. He also has an appealing protagonist in Boston. You get to know him and the other men before the night and feel their rage. Aja Naomi King is also a standout as a local piano player, Marie, who Boston falls for.