Stop-Loss (2008)

Director:

Kimberly Peirce

Writers (WGA):

Mark Richard (written by) &
Kimberly Peirce (written by)

Release Date:

28 March 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

A veteran soldier returns from his completed tour of duty in Iraq, only to find his life turned upside down when he is arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army.

Plot Keywords:

Suicide | Ranch | Blindness | Gash In The Face | 4x4

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Ryan Phillippe	...	SSgt. Brandon King
Abbie Cornish	...	Michelle
Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Tommy Burgess
Rob Brown	...	Isaac 'Eyeball' Butler
Channing Tatum	...	Steve Shriver
Victor Rasuk	...	Rico Rodriguez
Terry Quay	...	Al 'Preacher' Colson
Matthew Scott Wilcox	...	Harvey
Connett Brewer	...	Curtis (as Connett M. Brewer)
Timothy Olyphant	...	Lt. Col. Boot Miller
Josef Sommer	...	Senator Orton Worrell
Linda Emond	...	Ida King
Ciarán Hinds	...	Roy King
Mamie Gummer	...	Jeanie
Alex Frost	...	Shorty Shriver

Also Known As:

Untitled Kimberly Peirce Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic violence and pervasive language. (re-rating; originally also some strong sexuality)

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #43629) | Ireland:15A

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The shoot in Morocco took place during Ramadan.

Goofs:

Factual errors: On the bus in the beginning of the movie Lt. Colonel Boot tells the troops what they will NOT do while on leave. He mocks the orders he is giving out. In the real army a Lt. Colonel would never do this, much less be the person giving such orders. Those orders would be given by the 1st Sgt., especially if he said the things LTC Boot says in the movie.

Quotes:

[from trailer]
Brandon King: I'm not going back. I'm fightin' this thing.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The O'Reilly Factor: (2008-04-04)" (2008)

Read The Fine Print In Your Enlistment Contract

As it is in the Iraq War as it has been since wars started once mankind figured out how to use hunting tools as weapons, the nature of the soldier is to fight. The military man doesn't question policy or the reasons why he's in a war, he just does the best he can and try to survive.

Which is what Sergeant Ryan Phillippe, hometown hero from Brazos, Texas who's done his tour of duty and is given the horrible piece of news that he's been ordered for another tour of duty in Iraq. They call it Stop-Loss hence the title of the film.

Phillippe's last action in Iraq involved a nasty urban fire fight where some good friends were killed. He just wants to go back to civilian life and kick back. But the army wants his combat experience.

What to do. Probably if Phillippe came from some liberal blue state he'd find a lot more sympathy in his course of action. But he comes from that reddest of red states, Texas. It's a whole different mindset there and his very upbringing is telling him he's got to shoulder the burden of arms again.

Stop-Loss is a good film from director/writer Kimberly Peirce who brought us Boys Don't Cry. Stop-Loss is not as powerful as Boys Don't Cry still it sends a powerful if conflicted message for the young people today who might just contemplate a military enlistment.

Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are also in the film as Phillippe's fellow soldiers who have differing attitudes towards the army and the Iraq War. Hard to know what is right in a situation like this. Where you're brought up and by who might be the reason you take one course of action as opposed to another.

For what Phillippe does and the rest do, you have to go see Stop-Loss. And this review is dedicated to all of the men and women in arms for the United States of America who carry out our policy and put their bodies and lives on the line for us. If our leaders err and they do many times, no blame should attach to them. They are the most precious resource of the United States of America.