Stop-Loss (film)

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Stop-Loss
Promotional poster
Directed by	Kimberly Peirce
Written by	Kimberly Peirce Mark Richard
Starring	Ryan Phillippe Channing Tatum Abbie Cornish Joseph Gordon-Levitt Timothy Olyphant Rob Brown
Music by	John Powell
Cinematography	Çhris Menges
Editing by	Claire Simpson
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	March 28, 2008
Running time	112 min
Country	United States
Language	English/Spanish
Budget	$25,000,000
Gross revenue	Domestic $10,646,000 Worldwide $11,044,649

Stop-Loss is a 2008 American drama film directed by Kimberly Peirce, director of Boys Don't Cry, and starring Ryan Phillippe, Channing Tatum, Abbie Cornish, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It was distributed by Paramount Pictures and produced by MTV Films.

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 4.1 Box office performance 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Staff Sergeant Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) is plagued with guilt about casualties among both his men and civilians that occurred while he served in the Iraq War. During the tour, he lost three soldiers in an ambush. On returning to their Texas hometown, he and long-time best friend and war buddy Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum) are decorated. King expects to be discharged, but is suddenly ordered back into active duty in Iraq, based on the military's controversial stop-loss policy. He refuses and goes AWOL, becoming a deserter.

Steve's girlfriend Michelle (Abbie Cornish) sympathizes with King's refusal and travels with him to visit a senator, who ultimately refuses to see King. On the way they visit the family of Paul "Preacher" Colson, a soldier under Brandon's command who was killed. While on the road, he runs into another AWOL soldier who recommends a lawyer for him to go to arrange forged papers. They also meet up with Rico Rodriguez, another soldier under Brandon's command, who was blinded, lost his right arm and leg, and burned his face, while trying to save fellow squadmate Tommy Burgess (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) from a rocket propelled grenade. Michelle phones Steve and tells him their location. He comes in uniform to take Brandon back and tells Michelle he has volunteered to return to Iraq. King refuses to return and Michelle is furious with Steve and ends their relationship. King arranges forged papers which would allow him to flee to Canada. After a depressed Burgess commits suicide, King returns and visits Burgess's grave site immediately after the funeral and ends up in a fight with Shriver. King, his mother and Michelle then drive to the Mexican border, but King ultimately decides that he can't turn his back on everything he has ever known. The final scene depicts the soldiers going off to war.

[edit] Cast

• Ryan Phillippe - SSG Brandon Leonard King
• Abbie Cornish - Michelle Overton
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt - PFC Tommy Burgess
• Rob Brown - Isaac "Eyeball" Butler
• Channing Tatum - SGT Steve Shriver
• Victor Rasuk - PVT Rico Ridriguez
• Terry Quay - Paul "Preacher" Colson
• Matthew Scott Wilcox - Harvey
• Connett Brewer - Curtis
• Timothy Olyphant - LTC Boot Miller
• Josef Sommer - Senator Orton Worrell
• Linda Emond - Ida King
• Ciarán Hinds - Roy King
• Mamie Gummer - Jeanie Burgess
• Alex Frost - Shorty Shriver
• Chandra Washington - Mrs. Shriver
• Cora Cardona - Theresa Ridriguez
• Steven Strait - Michael Colson

[edit] Production

Filming began in August 2006 in Morocco and various locations in Texas — Austin, Lockhart, San Antonio, and Uhland. However, the film was not released until March 28, 2008.

The DVD was released on July 8, 2008.

[edit] Reception

The film received generally positive reviews from critics. As of February 12, 2009, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 65% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 136 reviews.^[1] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 62 out of 100, based on 34 reviews.^[2]

[edit] Box office performance

Despite favorable reviews, the film was a box office bomb. In its opening weekend, it grossed a mere $4.5 million in 1,291 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #8 at the box office.^[3][4] As of June 17, 2008, it has grossed a total of $10.9 million in the United States and Canada and over $16,000 in other territories.^[5] The film had an estimated budget of $25 million and only grossed $11 million worldwide, less than half of its budget.^[6]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Stop-Loss at the Internet Movie Database
• Stop-Loss at Rotten Tomatoes
• Stop-Loss at Metacritic
• Stop-Loss at Box Office Mojo
• Stop-Loss at Allmovie
• Stop-Loss Production Notes
• Kimberly Peirce's interview with The Young Turks.

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