Stop-Loss (2008) * * *

Directed by:  Kimberly Peirce

Starring:  Ryan Phillippe, Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Abbie Cornish, Timothy Olyphant, Ciaran Hinds, Mamie Gummer

Stop-Loss begins in the middle of the endless Iraq War in which the soldiers, in between battles which could snuff out their lives, are counting down until their tour of duty ends and they leave the army.  The soldiers in Stop-Loss are led by Staff Sgt. Brandon King (Phillippe), who return home to a heroes' parade, party, get drunk, in some cases get into fights, but by the end of the weekend will have been discharged from the army.

It doesn't work out that way for Sgt. King, who just as he's finished filling out the discharge papers is stop-lossed, or has his service time extended because he is ordered to return to Iraq for another tour.  Sgt. King, who like many members of his unit is showing signs of PTSD, panics and flees the base.  He is soon AWOL and on the run with his best friend Steve's (Tatum) fiancee Michelle (Cornish) driving him to Washington where he hopes a local senator can help him.  Michelle sympathizes with Brandon and has seen and experienced Steve's PTSD firsthand when he struck her in a drunken rage.  Brandon experiences flashbacks and hallucinations.  He knows going back to Iraq would destroy him mentally if he manages to survive.

It is suggested to Brandon that he can take part in a lawsuit which might assist in reversing his stop-loss status, or he can contact a lawyer in New York who can send him off to Canada under a new identity.  Is Brandon willing to leave behind his friends and family forever because of his principles?  Stop-Loss doesn't end in a courtroom drama.  Instead, it concentrates on the military experience which disposes of its heroes soon after the parade ends.  Brandon and his friends are left to battle PTSD on their own.  Some are able to cope, others are not.   Phillippe makes a sympathetic hero and we care about him, even though we know where it all will end.  All of the performances work.  The movie doesn't settle for a happy ending.  How Brandon is able to avoid prison time is not explained, but Stop-Loss makes us feel sorry for a loyal soldier who fought for his country, but had the rug pulled out from under him right as tasted his own version of freedom.