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poster of Stop-Loss
Rating: 6.1/10 by 246 users

Stop-Loss (2008)

A veteran soldier returns from his completed tour of duty in Iraq, only to find his life turned upside down when he is arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army.

Directing:
  • Kimberly Peirce
  • Sherry Gallarneau
  • Doug Coleman
Writing:
  • Kimberly Peirce
  • Mark Richard
Stars:
Release Date: Fri, Mar 28, 2008

Rating: 6.1/10 by 246 users

Alternative Title:
止损 - CN
Stop Loss - Zurueck an die Front - DE

Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 53 minutes
Budget: $25,000,000
Revenue: $11,207,130

Plot Keyword: post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd), iraq war veteran, u.s. soldier, woman director
Subtitle   Wallpaper   Watch Trailer    

Ryan Phillippe
Brandon King
Channing Tatum
Steve Shriver
Josef Sommer
Senator Orton Worrell
Timothy Olyphant
Lieutenant Colonel Boot Miller
Steven Strait
Michael Colson
Rob Brown
Isaac 'Eyeball' Butler
Victor Rasuk
Rico Rodriguez
Quay Terry
Al 'Preacher' Colson
Cora Cardona
Theresa Rodriguez
D.S. Moss
CIF Clerk
Richard Dillard
Sheriff Boudreaux
David Precopia
Police Officer
James D. Dever
Captain Dever
Mark Richard
Pastor Colson
Margo Martindale
Senator's Secretary (voice)
Ben Taylor
Bartender
Weston Scott Higgins
NCOIC of Pallbearers
Tom Minder
Honor Guard NCOIC
Robert Farrior
Captain Greg MacDonald
Mohammad Ahmed
Indian Man (uncredited)
Erik Anderson
Captain Urbina (uncredited)
Ken Edwards
Platoon Leader (uncredited)
Spencer Greenwood
Brawling Drunk (uncredited)
Beau Harris
Soldier (uncredited)
Elizabeth Ingalls
Sweetheart (uncredited)
Mike Murehead
Mechanic (uncredited)
Estella Perez
Capitol Business Woman (uncredited)
Carlos Pina
Dance Hall Dancer (uncredited)
Christian Stokes
Tweaker (uncredited)
Kathryn Tait
Biker Chick (uncredited)
Gary Teague
U.S. Senator (uncredited)
LaToya Ward
Cowgirl (uncredited)
Michele Williams
Army Nurse (uncredited)
Ric Maddox
Lieutenant One
Jeff Gibbs
Receptionist
Ayla Judson
Parade Teen (uncredited)

John Chard

Extended Enlistment. Kimberley Peirce’s (Boys Don’t Cry) movie proved to be controversial in military circles. The story is about the stop-loss procedure used by the American military, a kind of small print tactic that can extend a soldiers service should their country deem it so. Sergeant Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) returns home from the Gulf Wars with his mentally scarred pals fully expecting to get back to a domestic life without blood and brains dominating his personal landscape. Yet he is called back in for another tour of Iraq under the stop-loss procedure, something he rebels against and goes AWOL. He has done two tours already, surely he has earned his retirement? It starts off in electrified fashion, the horrors of the war in Iraq bursting from the screen as a firefight ensues, character traits are introduced to us, we are left in no doubt that the soldiers at the end of this tour of duty have seen it all. Pic then settles into a sort of cross between a road movie and a PTSD portrait awash with emotional strangulation. Peirce and her co-writer Mark Richard have honourable intentions, but too much is given over to stereotyping, of stock clichés and the bold signposting of character’s futures. They carefully paint King as a model soldier, this is definitely not about cowardice, but come the cop-out finale it’s evident that the narrative suffers glaring inconsistencies and confused messaging. On the bonus side is the performances of the youthful cast, where some fluctuating accents aside, Phillippe, Channing Tatum and Abbie Cornish are superb, while Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes a weakly written part crackle with pained emotion. Of the elders, most are underwritten, which is a shame when you got the likes of Ciaran Hinds in the cast. We are left as a whole with a film that is as uneven as a dusty road in Tikrit, not only in narrative structure, but also in actual facts as regards the procedures of the American military, both on the written documents and execution of duty in battle. It was a flop at the American box-office and it’s not hard to see why, but it still has merits. Even as the familiarity tries to breed contempt, the anguished reality of a soldiers life, during tours and post service time, strikes a mightily distressing chord. 6.5/10


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