But now he's back home in Brazos, Texas, receiving a purple heart and a bronze star and being hailed as a hero by the townspeople. He's surrounded not only by loved ones, but also by close friends and squad mates Sgt. Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum) and Pvt. Tommy Burgess (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), both of whom seem to be having a difficult time readjusting to civilian life. After a heavy night of drinking and celebrating their return, Steve digs himself into his fiancee's (Abby Cornish) yard thinking he is still in Iraq, while Tommy spends his evenings running into light poles and places of business. To further complicate matters, when the guys sober up and go back to their base to turn in their equipment, Brandon is informed that he has been signed up for another tour of duty in Iraq and will ship off in a few weeks. He is certain there has been a mistake since he has only just returned, but he discovers that he has become another statistic of the stop-loss program - where soldiers who are supposed to get out are sent back into active duty without their consent.
Brandon's only thought is to get to Washington and speak to the senator who presented him with his medals, since he claimed he'd help Brandon if he ever needed assistance. Michelle (Cornish) agrees to drive Brandon there and the two embark on a road trip. After a few scuffles with locals which leave Brandon bloodied and bruised (but you should see the other guys!), Steve catches up with Michelle and Brandon with intentions of bringing Brandon back to base, before he does irreparable damage and spends his tour of duty in the stockade, but Brandon won't have it and decides to leave the country. While on his road trip across country, he makes stops at the homes of one of his men who died during the ambush to speak with his family, and also to visit Pvt. Rodriguez, who lost an arm, leg and his sight during the incident in Tikrit. Seeing these people further enrages Brandon at the government's indifference towards those who have given so much, some even making the ultimate sacrifice. When tragedy strikes at home, Brandon must decide whether to run or to go home and be there for his friends and family. The movie is rather long and clocks in at around 2 hours, so towards the end, it does seem to drag a bit. But then it quickly wraps up and finalizes things.
Whether you are for the war or against it, Stop-Loss explores a genuine issue facing our enlisted men and women today, one with possibly devastating consequences for them and their families. It's deeply moving and intense and the acting is fabulous. I couldn't help watching this movie thinking in the back of my head the whole time that this is the movie whose filming broke up Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, but the two never kindle a romance in the film. I guess whatever happened was behind the scenes.
There's a nice selection of deleted scenes that provide fill-in info that was clearly shaved off for time's sake, plus two really hearty featurette's - one on the making-of and the passion put into the film and another on the boot camp the actors had to undergo to prep them for their roles as soldiers. Its all good stuff. Check out Stop-Loss.
