Another anti-Iraq war movie but this one shows a different side

Rating: 7/10 (21 March 2010)

Stop Loss is unique. Almost surprisingly given the content of the film. We have had a plethora of anti-Iraq films the most recent of course being The Hurt Locker which gained critical acclaim including Best Picture at the Academy Awards. So how is this film different? First of all I believe that Stop Loss was made with the intent of appealing to a young demographic. I think they are trying to show young impressionable people how this affects people who are in their own age demo, and also what it is like for these soldiers. They due this by bringing in a cast of well known hot young up and comers, a simplistic story, and a strong lead character. The film is more entertaining than educational but does both easily. There is nothing wrong with any of this and its also refreshing to have a film about the current war from the perspective of stateside and a soldier wrestling with emotions and guilt to return to the war. The film has very little scenes of the actual war and instead is really showing us the soldiers who are affected afterword and their lives as they try to piece it together. It is certainly well worth seeing but unfortunately isn't as intense or effective as it tries to be.
Ryan Phillippe headlines the cast as a brave solider tormented with visions of the things they've done. Phillippe is good, he's as good as he always is and that is good but never truly great. He shows a lot of emotion and holds the film well and fits the bill for the aforementioned attempt at bringing in a younger demographic. Another young up and coming star is Channing Tatum who gets some really meaty emotions as he displays PTSD. Tatum gets the most as far as emotions but really doesn't get a lot of depth beyond that to his character. I'm quite convinced having seen him in a few things as of late that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is just a skip away from an Academy Award nomination. I don't mean to say his performance in this film is necessarily worthy of that but he always does an incredible job and really grabs on to a character. As Tommy Burgess he's an alcoholic, torn apart by memories of the war, and losing his wife. Lovely actor Abbie Cornish plays Tatum's wife, Michelle. She also does a good job of playing the girl next door, nice southern belle wife and has good chemistry with Phillippe. She never gets much character development however despite her involvement in the story.
Heavily acclaimed director Kimberly Peirce who gained awards and notoriety for the 'just okay' film (in my opinion) Boys Don't Cry is still very new to directing. I think she is the type of director who gets her hands on a cause and wants to show it off using her talents. She also co-wrote the film with Mark Richard and neither of them really have a lot of big screen credits to their name. I only point this out because Stop Loss in the hands of a more experienced director and writer could have really been something to take notice of. Unfortunately whether you chalk it up to inexperience with the film makers or an attempt at mainstreaming a serious message the film is good but never great and unfortunately will most likely be forgotten in a sea of Iraq based war films. I honestly didn't feel that something so acclaimed like The Hurt Locker was that far ahead of Stop Loss but opinions only mean so much. 7.5/10