There were four high-profile Iraq War films that crashed and burned at the box office last year, so Hollywood’s expectations are somewhat muted for “Stop-Loss,” a distressing look at soldiers being pressed back into military service just when they thought that their tours should be ending. Subject matter aside, I nevertheless have high hopes that audiences will seek out this powerful and surprisingly even-handed film that walks the difficult line of criticizing US military policies while still supporting the efforts of American Soldiers. You may not agree with the film’s positions, but at the very least, “Stop-Loss” deserves praise for dealing honestly with a thorny issue where most other filmmakers would simply resort to propaganda.

Ryan Phillippe stars as Brandon King, a patriotic Texas boy who signed up for the army with his friends following 9-11. After two bloody tours of combat, Brandon is given a chest full of medals and a hero’s welcome home, but his sense of duty is called into question when he learns that he has been stop-lossed; a little-known policy that allows the military to postpone discharging soldiers in war time.

Brandon realizes that the war in Iraq isn’t going to be ending anytime soon, and so the all-American hero is forced to choose between indefinite combat or going AWOL. He chooses to run while his best friend Steve (Channing Tatum) gives in and signs up for sniper school; a decision that all but ends the relationship with his girlfriend (Abbie Cornish).

“Stop-Loss” argues that our current military policies force our best and brightest to choose between never-ending service or a criminal’s life on the run—two nightmare options. The film succeeds precisely because it shows good soldiers caught up by military policies that allow them no legal or honorable way out of their predicament. Indeed, no matter what you may think of the Iraq War, “Stop-Loss” proves to be an articulate indictment simply because it’s a compelling portrait of an honest soldier being penalized by his country simply because he was naïve enough to enlist.

I suspect that the army won’t be showing this film at recruiting seminars.

“Stop-Loss” screened as part of South by Southwest, and it was interesting to hear the reactions of the soldiers in the audience at the post-show Q & A. The general public may not have heard much about this policy, but those in the military certainly have some very strong opinions of the “back door draft” that has sent 80,000 servicemen back to war when they thought that they would be going home. For the record, the soldiers were mostly complimentary toward the film.

So kudos to a film that takes a dispassionate look at the difficult issue. The problem is that dispassionate is good for journalism, but it makes for hit-and-miss cinema. >From a narrative point of view, “Stop-Loss” would have been more effective with a bit more emotion and a stronger point of view by the filmmakers, but even so, this is a very good film that proved to be one of the best at SXSW and certainly the most accomplished of the recent slate of Iraq War films. 

Movie reviews by Sean, “The Movie Guy,” are published bi-weekly in “The Port Arthur News” and weekly on KFDM-TV. Sean welcomes your comments via email at smcbride@kavutv.com.