Iraq war veterans receive their marching orders just after returning home from a tour of duty in the war zone in the drama, STOP-LOSS. STOP-LOSS refers to the practice the United States military utilizes requiring certain soldiers to continue serving their country in battle. As defined by Wikipedia, stop-loss is an “involuntary extension of a service member's enlistment contract in order to retain them beyond the normal end term of service or the ceasing of a permanent change of station move for a member still in military service”. In STOP LOSS, Ryan Phillippe’s Brandon King, purple-heart, bronze-star wearing Iraq War veteran, is stop-lossed and ordered back to Iraq. Not agreeing to the terms of service, Brandon flees his hometown and becomes a fugitive of the United States military. 
The practice of stop-loss is a controversial one, one which director Kimberly Pierce is dead against. There’s a reasonable and rational argument against the use of stop-loss, but Pierce does not deliver it. Her passionate criticism against the procedure has blinded her sense of realism and ability in storytelling. The characters in the film, excluding Brandon, are poorly drawn caricatures of what many anti-war activists view as the American military. Brandon’s pals are short-tempered, muscle-bound idiots who’s machoism supercedes their intellect. By painting those willing to serve their country in a derogatory light, Pierce undermines her legitmacy and those she is seemingly seeking to protect. Her general tackling of the issue is heavy-handed and poorly presented, but the intimate moments between Brandon and his fellow soldiers work. Despite his transparent Texas accent, Phillipe delivers some nice emotional scenes surrounding the sacrifices made by those that serve. Not only is Phillipe good, but Pierce demonstrates a wonderful touch allowing the drama of the scenes to unfold. In spite of these moments, the highly contentious and highly charged issue of stop-loss is more than Pierce can handle.Grade: C-
No comments:
Post a Comment