Boys Don’t Fly | ..but Ryan Phillippe decides to leave Abbie Cornish and become a fugitive rather than return to Iraq in Stop-Loss.
STOP-LOSS
Directed by Kimberly Peirce. Starring Ryan Phillippe, Abbie Cornish, Channing Tatum. Now playing.
4 Stars
According to Section 12305(a), Title 10 of U.S. Military Code, “The President may suspend any provision of law relating to promotion, retirement, or separation applicable to any member of the armed forces who the President determines is essential to the national security of the United States.”
This practice, known as “stop-loss,” is used to extend tours of duty and renew enlistment of soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Those hit with it call it a backdoor draft, but the U.S. government declares it policy and expects its soldiers to suck it up and return to formation. Most do, but some soldiers who are caught up in this unfair and absurd policy are taking a stand. Some have sued the government itself for breach of contract, but find that most battles with bureaucracy are losing ones. Some realize that the only real way to fight stop-loss is to run—to put up with being branded as deserters, criminals, and cowards, and make sacrifices that in some ways are greater than laying down their lives for their country.
Directed and co-written by Kimberly Peirce (who’s been MIA from Hollywood since her acclaimed 1999 debut film Boys Don’t Cry), Stop-Loss is an open nerve of a movie. It seethes with emotions that aren’t always on the surface, but are constantly simmering just below it.
Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) has made it out of Iraq in one piece. After too many close calls, Brandon and others in his platoon are headed home. For some, it’s just for a rest, for others, including Brandon and his best friend Steve, it’s home for good. The soldiers are excited to be back with their families, but the celebrations are short-lived. It doesn’t take long for their loved ones to see that these men have changed, their traumatic memories of war keeping them at a remove.
Even so, Brandon finds it hard to take when, after two tours off duty, he gets stop-lossed. With recruitment at an all-time low, Uncle Sam needs to keep all of his good soldiers by his side. War might be hell, but the real killer is the fine print. Brandon expresses his outrage to superiors by saying, “Fuck President Bush!”—a sentiment shared by millions around the world, but which is all the more inflammatory when it comes from the mouth of a proud Texan and a loyal soldier. Brandon considers his commitment to the Army fulfilled and vows never to return to Iraq, and instead chooses a life as a fugitive, further alienating himself from the country he has sacrificed so much for.
Peirce has created a finely measured movie, with controlled pacing and a smart script. The cast plays their emotions close to the vest until the right time comes to let it out, making the plight of these victims of loyalty all the more resonant. Phillippe (who after Breach, Crash, and now Stop-Loss is looking like less and less of the pretty-boy lightweight he seemed to be in his Cruel Intentions days) gives a thoughtful performance with a soldierly control that a less experienced actor might not have been able to generate. The standout here, however, is Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who is quickly becoming one of the most versatile actors currently working in Hollywood—albeit in movies (like Brick and The Lookout) that few people have taken the trouble to seek out.
Hopefully Stop-Loss won’t be another one. This is not an antiwar movie, nor is it a testament to the fraternity of soldiers. This is a movie about the tug-of-war between self-preservation and duty and, as with most conflict, it’s impossible to tell which side wins.
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