Review of Stop-Loss (2008) by Chads. — 30 Mar 2008

A man has the right to change his mind. He can flip-flop. But sometimes when you go too far, there is no point of return. Iraqi veteran Brandon King(Ryan Phillippe) tells his commanding officer, in so many words, that the president could go f*** himself, which should tell you something about whose side "Stop-Loss" is on.

But: surprise, surprise. "Stop-Loss" is far from being "In the Valley of Elah". The president is disdainful towards people who flip-flop, but this filmmaker, to my surprise, flip-flops, from a liberal to a conservative agenda, ironically enough, and supports the war, in spite of a narrative that suggests otherwise.

Like her previous film "Boys Don't Cry", this filmmaker captures the local culture of a community with objectivity. She doesn't leer. She's not judgemental about rural folks who ski-surf on dirt roads(from "Boys Don't Cry"), or in this case, Texas denizens who get drunk and shoot their guns in the woods.

And also like this director's previous film, "Stop-Loss" has a protagonist named Brandon. Coincidence? There's no such thing as coincidences. In "Boys Don't Cry", Brandon Teena was a girl who thought she was a boy.

Brandon King is a soldier who thought he was a conscientious objector. "Stop-Loss" respects the men who serve our country. But does it respect our president, too? No upside-down flag in tatters, here.