Stop-Loss

Acclaimed director Kimberly Peirce’s second feature length film (after 1999’s BOYS DON’T CRY) is the latest entry in the recent wave of war-themed films that appear to be anti-war while never really pushing the envelope. STOP-LOSS could best be described as “VARSITY BLUES Goes to War” – a rather unsurprising connection, since both were produced by MTV Films. A melodrama that targets twentysomethings instead of the generation that made this war, it gives a few poignant glimpses of the devastating affects war has on soldiers while never being brave enough to show the outrage it feels.

The film centers on a small group of Texas All-Americans (friends since elementary school, all championship football players in high school, etc.) returning home after fighting in Iraq. The troop was recently caught in an ambush that left two of their friends dead, one seriously wounded and their leader, Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) a decorated hero. It is the last deployment for Brandon and his best friend Steve (Channing Tatum), until he discovers that the army has stop-lossed him; he is to report for duty to serve another tour in Iraq. Infuriated, Brandon and Steve’s fiancée Michelle (Abbie Cornish) flee their small town to try and find a way out. In the process, he will challenge everything he knows about patriotism, friendship, family and honor.

The film does well on examining the humanity of war and the devastating after-effects it has on its soldiers. Unfortunately, the film is plagued with wooden or over-the-top performances that never fully translate the impact of the characters’ actions. As Steve, Tatum remains expressionless most of the time, marginally summoning actual emotion only when it is absolutely essential. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who delivered a fantastically nuanced performance in last year’s THE LOOKOUT, rants and raves here. He fills the typical role of dark, moody wild child but adds no further dimension to it between his manic ups and downs. Couple that in with spotty southern accents from most of the cast and you’ve got what this film offers; a bunch of attractive, marketable faces with no real substance underneath.

However, any success the film has must be credited to Phillippe and Cornish. The real impact of the film rests on Brandon’s journey, and Phillippe does not disappoint. He gives the most layered and focused performance of his career; showing genuine emotion in spades when the others cannot. The film teeters on near-ridiculous melodrama as it is, but Phillippe remains genuine throughout. In the hands of a more bombastic actor, the film would have veered into soap opera-like dramatics with no chance of recovering. Cornish acquits herself too in a rather limited role; when faced with the possibility of being stuck between friend Brandon and fiancée Steve, she sidesteps being the wishy-washy girl who can only watch, as the script points her to.

Director and co-writer Peirce clearly set out to make an anti-war film; the only character in the film who doesn’t find the stop-loss procedure completely repulsive is the army general. But she never drives the film to a point of ending as anti-war, seemingly for fear of offending anyone. It may be because the focus was meant to be aimed at the characters rather than the war itself, but when every person in the film is negatively affected by the war (whether they are stop-lossed, wounded, killed, experience violent flashbacks or return to a destroyed home life), the viewer doesn’t really come out of the film feeling that these people were glad for their experiences.

The filmmakers make it clear that the act of stop-loss is a terrible thing, but focuses its argument almost exclusively on that. The affects of war are touched on explicitly, but no statement is ever really defined, leading the film to an ending that feels incomplete. While it does raise questions for the viewer to contemplate themselves, they will inevitably be influenced by the anti-war track followed throughout most of the film. And despite the strong presence of Phillippe and Cornish, add in the mixed message with the unconvincing performances and you’ve got STOP-LOSS. It is a film that has all the makings for greatness but settles for mediocrity, so as not to offend anyone.

**/****