Anyone following my tweets probably already noticed that I went to see Stop-Loss today. Although it was initially a toss-up between 21, Superhero Movie and Stop-Loss, I decided that of the three, this is the one I’ve most looked forward to, primarily because of Ryan Phillipe, Channum Tating, Joseph Gordon-Leavitt and Timothy Olyphant–four actors whose careers I’ve enjoyed.

After scanning some of the top reviews at Rotten Tomatoes, I suspect that people’s opinions about the war itself influence their overall enjoyment of the film. In particular, a lot of people were bothered that director Kimberly Pierce (Boys Don’t Cry) didn’t offer up solutions to the problem of the “back-door draft.” It didn’t bother me so much. This is a messy, complicated situation without easy answers. That doesn’t make it any less important to discuss.

Stop-Loss may not enter the pantheon of great war films, but I suspect that it will be a herald of the types of films we can expect about this war. Specifically as the relationship between the war and the folks back home is depicted. If WWII gave us the great hero stories (e.g. Patton, Saving Private Ryan, Bridge Over the River Kwai) and the horror of nuclear warfare (Dr. Stangelove); Vietnam gave us existential crisis (Apocalyspe Now), counter-culture (Hair), and the fallout of war (Born on the Fourth of July); and the Gulf War gave us career soldier who are a mix of mixed-up and patriotic (Jarheads, Courage Under Fire); the current occupation in Iraq is already yielding movies that are critical of the motivation and methods of the war while trying to present the soldiers themselves in a good light.

I’m not so sure I’m sold on this point of view. I’ve known some asshole soldiers whose notion of patriotism is about as complex as dog’s sense of loyalty. I’m not troop bashing here, I’m just saying that pretending all our troops are heroes to be admired is a mistake.

Anyway, what does all this have to do with the movie? Not much, except that I hope people seeing the movie will engage in more thoughtful and mature discussions of the war than we typically get on political punditry shows. Even my favorites like Real Time with Bill Maher and The Daily Show tend to beat a pretty simplistic drum on the subject.

The cast all did a great job, IMO, with the material they were given. At times a bit cliche, at times a bit sappy, the script was nonetheless emotional. There were a number of times I was tearing up at the movie. I’d have had less reluctance to flee to Canada than Phillipe’s character (not that it’s so easy in this war), but just as much rage and indignation.

In the end, I thought it was worth seeing the movie if it makes you think more about the burden we’re putting on our soldiers and the horrors of this war our current president is so reluctant to end.

Posted: March 30th, 2008 under movies, politics, war.
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