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'Stop-Loss' is Commendable

By Marcos Bernal-Salas

Friday, March 28, 2008

‘Stop-Loss’ is director Kimberly Pierce’s follow up to ‘Boys Don’t Cry’. Needless to say the expectations are very high. This new film is different from her Oscar-winning drama but yet still touches on the emotional and vulnerable world of the war and a government policy that affects the many lives of young soldiers today. Without getting too political Pierce challenges the audience to think what it means for the soldiers at war, the aftermath and the hopes that are suddenly crushed by a flawed government. Just like the policy Pierce desperately tries to unveil she walks a fine line between critic and filmmaker. The attempt is courageous but not fully executed.

The film starts off following a group of friends serving in the front lines. Sgt.Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) and Sgt. Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum) are not only best friends but also battalion leaders. During a convoy surveillance King and company are attacked, lives on both sides are lost and the images are a clear example of this terrible war. Returning to their hometown in Brazos, Texas might sound easier than said for King and Shriver because for the latter is hard to leave the ghosts of the war behind. Even when friends and family are trying to help the nightmares of Iraq manifest through bar fights, failed marriages and straining friendships. Just like he would in the front line King tries to hold his friends and comrades together but not to avail fails at the end. Unexpectedly, King receives orders to return to Iraq, the Stop-Loss policy is invoked to have him return immediately to the front lines. The war that he valiantly served and is desperately trying to leave behind.

Pierce execution is flawless and centers on the emotional lives of these characters. She does well trying to expose what goes on in the soldiers’ mind during and after the war. An ambitious task since no film or documentary to this day has been able to shed light onto a very frightening subject. However, it’s a brave attempt and as usual she delivers the caliber performances and dramatic situations that will make ‘Stop-Loss’ a memorable film. The acting is simply superb. Phillippe and Tatum command the screen. Abbie Cornish and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are great at their supporting roles bringing a breath of fresh air to the good and flawed characters they embody.

‘Stop-Loss’ is a grand film. Pierce is a commendable great director – especially looking back at ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ – but I felt there was something missing here. A bit more courage perhaps. I would have like to see this film show more about the war – yes the images are profound but not shocking – and definitely cross the line about the war and the politics in this country. What is it going to take for a filmmaker to take a stand? Who is going to pull the curtain down on the flawed military policies? I guess we all have to wait until a new wave – of politics – or directors to arrive. Until then ‘Stop-Loss’ will have to serve as a good reflection of the war, the aftermath and the lives of the soldiers who live through it.