Despite a pushy MTV ad campaign and hunk stars Ryan Phillippe and Channing Tatum (see photo), Stop-Loss became the latest in a series of war movies to provoke audience indifference. To quote the Hollywood Reporter, "a $4.5 million opening, though good enough for eighth place on the frame, is unlikely to stop red ink from flowing on yet another Iraq War misfire." Here's the thing. Stop-Loss isn't a misfire where it counts—as human drama. Kimberly Peirce's movie digs deep into the bruised psyches of its enlisted men. Some of these soldiers are stop-lossed or pulled back into battle after serving their tour of duty in Iraq, others feel they have no choice but to go AWOL and live underground.
The Texas soldiers in Stop-Loss are fictional, but their plight is touching all our lives. A front page story in today's New York Times—"Tracking a Marine Lost at Home"—details the story of Eric W. Hall, 24, a former Marine corporal who disappeared into the woods of Southwest Florida after sensing that Iraqi insurgents had surrounded him.The story of Corporal Hall and others like him are more important than any movie. But what is the source of our resistance to seeing these stories depicted on screen, especially when done with the searching heart Peirce brings to Stop-Loss? Look, I'm not saying you shouldn't see 21, which took the No. 1 spot and $24 million for the weekend. Popcorn movies can be fun escapism. They sure as hell are part of the reason we're drawn to movies. But if we don't season our entertainment diet with movies that challenge and even slap us around, the movies we'll be left with —Fool's Gold, College Road Trip, name your poison— may be the movies we deserve.
[ Photo courtest of Paramount ]
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God | April 9, 2008 5:30 PM
This is typical Americans Trying to sweep the dirt under the rug ...People need to face there mistake of Georg Bush where is his impechment he should be in jail, he has blood on his hands , america let that looney toon in the white house ,so sweep the dirt under the rug killing them softly with a smile ... The Soldiers deserve more respect!!!
Ann-Marie | April 2, 2008 8:37 PM
I did see this film, and I loved it. It was very moving, and wasn't just about the back-door draft called stoploss. It also showed how several marines who served together and experienced the same things reacted very differently to civilian life. It is a good movie to help folks understand PTSD and how perhaps one marine can seem ok, and another one is off the wall. It truly is a great film, and the film itself doesn't preach one way or the other: it simply shows all facets of the human drama. And yes, it also includes iraqi's suffering. In my opinion, this was an excellent thought provoking film, and I did cry at times. But that's the problem - people don't want to think: they won't think who they vote for, or at the movie theater, choosing instead the path of least resistence: ha-ha entertain me.
wille nelson | April 1, 2008 1:20 PM
It's Vietnam all over again..
Congragulations !!!!!!!!!
Al Gore | April 1, 2008 1:17 PM
people are simply stupid for voting for Bush , America got raped in the a s s !!!!
Good job idiots!!!!
Ralph nader is a jerk
albert | April 1, 2008 1:14 PM
its unfortunate that the audience that studios want to make movies for don't even understand movies there the same people that can't wait to see "the Hills" or the "O.C" are what paris is porking next...
angie | April 1, 2008 1:06 PM
stupid campaign it turned people off, and ryan phillipe in a weak peformance is not like by the public because he cheated on reese witherspoon. joseph gordon levit should have been in the lead .Having MTV behind this made me think this was "varsity blues" in Iraq.
But kimberly peirce is one of the best directors but hopefully it doesn't take 9yrs for her next movie...
Westcoast, Canada | April 1, 2008 2:03 AM
America voted for Bush twice in a row. They voted for a continuation of the war in Iraq. And they might vote in McCain and more blood and death. Of course people do not want to watch movies depicting the war or the lives of soldiers who lay down the lives everyday, or heaven forbid, the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who are left holding the pieces. It makes them feel guilty as hell, because it holds each and every person accountable and exposes their desire to fuel the cowboy, insular, power hungry Pax Americana of today.
Dryer | March 31, 2008 9:42 PM
Society isnt ready to face the consequences of this presidency or this war; fictional or otherwise. I mean you watch the doc's NO END IN SIGHT, WHY WE FIGHT, BODY OF WAR and your heart aches as your head hurts from the disgusting vile way this once great country and its people are being bought and sold at a discount rate for the amusement of the rich. And, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Such images reflect our collective guilt and elicite more terror than any HOSTEL film could ever bring to a screen.