Stop-Loss

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kimberly Peirce directs. Chris Menges behind the camera. John Powell scores. Claire Simpson cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Earned back only 45% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 2Released 18 years ago.
• 3Directed by Kimberly Peirce, shot by Chris Menges. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by John Powell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor Claire Simpson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6Ryan Phillippe and Abbie Cornish and Joseph Gordon-Levitt carry the top of the cast.
• 7Marketing tagline: "The bravest place to stand is by each other's side.".
• 8IMDB entry: tt0489281 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography

Chris Menges

Original score

John Powell

Editing

Claire Simpson

Production design

David Wasco

Costume design

Marlene Stewart

Stunt coordinator

Doug Coleman

Runtime

113 min · 1h 53m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$25,000,000

Box office

$11,207,130

Return

45% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Stop-Loss (2008) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

64% 🍅 Fresh

Metacritic

61/100

IMDB rating

6.4/10 · 21,140 votes

MPAA

R

Also by

Kimberly Peirce

• 
  Boys Don't Cry

  1995 · ★ 9.0
• 
  Halt and Catch Fire

  2014 · ★ 7.9
• 
  The L Word

  2004 · ★ 7.7
• 
  Kidding

  2018 · ★ 7.6
• 
  P-Valley

  2020 · ★ 7.6
• 
  Boys Don't Cry

  1999 · ★ 7.4

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  AWOL

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Stop-Loss - Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  'Stop-Loss' | Critics' Picks | The New York Times

  Featurette

Community reviews

What people are saying

• John Chard2015-03-07
  ★ 6.5/10

  Extended Enlistment. Kimberley Peirce’s (Boys Don’t Cry) movie proved to be controversial in military circles. The story is about the stop-loss procedure used by the American military, a kind of small print tactic that can extend a soldiers service should their country deem it so. Sergeant Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) returns home from the Gulf Wars with his mentally scarred pals fully expecting to get back to a domestic life without blood and brains dominating his personal landscape. Yet he is called back in for another tour of Iraq under the stop-loss procedure, something he rebels against and goes AWOL. He has done two tours already, surely he has earned his retirement? It starts off in electrified fashion, the horrors of the war in Iraq bursting from the screen as a firefight ensues, character traits are introduced to us, we are left in no doubt that the soldiers at the end of this tour of duty have seen it all. Pic then settles into a sort of cross between a road movie and a PTSD portrait awash with emotional strangulation. Peirce and her co-writer Mark Richard have honourable intentions, but too much is given over to stereotyping, of stock clichés and the bold signposting of character’s futures. They carefully paint King as a model soldier, this is definitely not about cowardice, but come the cop-out finale it’s evident that the narrative suffers glaring inconsistencies and confused messaging. On the bonus side is the performances of the youthful cast, where some fluctuating accents aside, Phillippe, Channing Tatum and Abbie Cornish are superb, while Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes a weakly written part crackle with pained emotion. Of the elders, most are underwritten, which is a shame when you got the likes of Ciaran Hinds in the cast. We are left as a whole with a film that is as uneven as a dusty road in Tikrit, not only in narrative structure, but also in actual facts as regards the procedures of the American military, both on the written documents and execution of duty in battle. It was a flop at the American box-office and it’s not hard to see why, but it still has merits. Even as the familiarity tries to breed contempt, the anguished reality of a soldiers life, during tours and post service time, strikes a mightily distressing chord. 6.5/10

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  MTV Films

  US

• PE

  Peirce Pictures

• 

  Paramount Pictures

  US

• 

  Scott Rudin Productions

  US

Key crew

• ProducerKimberly Peirce
• EditorClaire Simpson
• ProducerScott Rudin
• ProducerMark Roybal
• Stunt DoubleSamantha MacIvor
• Script SupervisorSherry Gallarneau
• Art Department CoordinatorGretchen Engel
• Production DesignDavid Wasco
• Unit PublicistAmanda Brand
• Costume DesignMarlene Stewart
• Unit PublicistRachel Aberly
• Set DecorationSandy Reynolds-Wasco
• ProducerGregory Goodman
• CastingAvy Kaufman
• Art DirectionPeter Borck
• StuntsTroy Robinson
• Stunt CoordinatorDoug Coleman
• Second Unit DirectorDoug Coleman
• Stunt CoordinatorJeff Dashnaw
• Stunt CoordinatorJimmy N. Roberts
• StuntsDick Hancock
• Set DecorationJille Azis
• Art Department AssistantJason Perrine

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd)
• iraq war veteran
• u.s. soldier
• woman director

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical2008-03-28R

Also known as

International titles

• 止损CN
• Stop Loss - Zurueck an die FrontDE