passionate take on stop-loss
Bob RossIraq veterans see more conflict after first tours are over.
Stop-Loss: The public hasn’t been swarming to see Iraq-war themed dramas, so it’s doubtful that director Kimberly Peirce (”Boys Don’t Cry”) is going to break that pattern with “Stop-Loss.” That’s a shame, because this intense, intimate small-town saga will hit home for anyone who knows a casualty, veteran or relative of this five-year-old conflict.
Ryan Philippe (Flags of Our Fathers, Breach) is stellar as a platoon leader who survives a harrowing, deadly skirmish just before his tour of duty ends and he returns to his tiny Texas hometown.
The film’s opening act depicts the traumatic ambush and its painful aftermath. Then comes another kick in the gut: The Army’s “stop-loss” policy means soldiers can be sent back to Iraq even after their contracted service is over. Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt match Philippe’s emotional levels as fellow veterans, each traumatized and conflicted in his own way.
While the filmmaker clearly despises the stop-loss policy and the effects of post-traumatic stress, she doesn’t turn the film into an antiwar or anti-government diatribe. This is a more personal, passionate and thoughtful effort than that. We give it a B.
See more reviews at bobrossmovies.com
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April 10th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Actually hasn’t really been an anti-war movie yet has there? Moore’s movies are anto-bush-regime. Curious as to how it’s not an anti-war film as without stop-loss policies there wouldn’t be a war right now.
Also, lost my link on your right banner there? Really? You know of any other anti-war blog in Pasco? You know of any other blog at all coming out of Pasco?
Playah-hate-ah’s all.