Sydney Film Festival 2008 – Stop-Loss Review
Stop-Loss is one of the films in official competition this year and is the first feature film since Boys Don’t Cry for director Kimberly Peirce. This movie, starring Ryan Phillipe and Australia’s Abbie Cornish, tells the story of a combat unit in Iraq who endure an horrific battle before returning home where their lives and plans are variously disrupted by the government’s “stop-loss” policy.
Before the screening we were treated to an introduction by Kimberly Peirce in which she explained the origins of the film for her. She was a resident in New York when the September 11, 2001 attacks took place and like many people was deeply affected by the events that took place on that day. Additionally, in the days, weeks and months that followed she realised that the US government’s response was going to involve serious military actions and she developed an interest in the effect this would have on the lives of soldiers and their families.
This became deeply personal when her 19 year old brother announced that he was joining the army to go fight and defend his country. Peirce then described her part in living out one of the more interesting aspects of the Iraq conflict, that of the internet age. If Vietnam was the first televised war, the current Iraq conflict is the first User Generated Content War. Peirce made this clear as she spoke of communicating with her brother and other soldiers using instant messaging technology and of watching videos made by soldiers serving in Iraq online. Soldiers would carry cheap and small cameras with them everywhere, recording the events of their lives and then editing to give an unprecedented view of the life and minds of these fighting units. Peirce has used actual pieces of these productions and added her own material (in order to insert the cast) to add another level of authenticity to the film.
In that regard, Stop-Loss is a soldier’s movie (which is no small achievement for a director outside of the military). While Peirce’s views on the war are readily apparent in the movie, this film takes care with the soldiers and is much better for that.
The film opens with tense scenes as the unit we follow is working a checkpoint in Tikrit. We share the anxiety and uncertainty of the troops as cars approach at speed. Which car holds an innocent family and which is an IED (improvised explosive device)? Suddenly they come under fire, and as per their standard operating procedure, they pursue their attackers. Unfortunately, right into an ambush. What follows is a tense essay on the perils of this type of war for all involved. While the story and action focuses on the American troops, the action is faithful to the cost and consequences for innocent civilians and enemy combatants as well.
When the soldiers return home, we witness different reactions among the men. Some can’t wait to go back, others are relieved to be home at last. As the parties begin, we witness the cracks in the lives of these men. Things start to come to a head when Ryan Phillipe’s character Brandon King is told, on the day he is to be discharged, that he has been stop-lossed.
The last thing Brandon wants is to go back to Iraq, as he sees it, he’s served his time, done his duty and honoured his commitment. He owes the Army nothing and the Army should leave him alone. As he tells his father when asked if it’s because he’s scared, “I ain’t scared, I’m pissed off.”
So instead Brandon goes AWOL (absent without leave) and heads on a trip to try and find a way out of this dilemma. I don’t want to give any more of the plot away, but King’s journey opens up different aspects of the war for the audience. The way these men are bound together through experiences that nobody else can understand, the reasons that they want to stay (“I’m good at this, I can do this”) and the reasons they want to leave (“I’m done with killing and I’m done leading men to slaughter”).
The movie also explores the impact of war and the soldiers’ homecoming on their families and loved ones. Loving reunions are intermingled with marital breakdowns and tense fear as men prepare to return to war.
All in all, Stop-Loss is a very well considered movie that takes its subject and subjects seriously. Ultimately it succeeds because of the tenderness it has for those it portrays. This isn’t a sentimental movie, but rather one that confronts the audience with stark realities while maintaining a clear sense of humanity at its core.
After the screening we were able to participate in a Q&A session with Kimberly Peirce and while the quality of the questions wasn’t great, it did provide us with the clear impression that Peirce was very aware of the issues that she’s confronting. If you’re at all interested in an issues based movie that remains very accessible and isn’t “preachy”, then Stop-Loss is well worth a look. If you’d like to see some of the soldier created videos and thoughts on this movie and the Iraq war, then check out www.stoplossmovie.com/soundoff.
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