Recalled: Kimberly Peirce Shows the Depths of War in STOP-LOSS

by Mallory Potosky | Published July 8, 2008

In a world where every cell phone has camera capabilities, the realities of the world are brought into our homes with relative ease. And for the first time ever this means the realities of war are brought along too. Soldiers, armed not only with guns but very often small, one-chip cameras are documenting their war-torn lives.

Everyone’s a moviemaker. But while these affecting stories are making their way beyond army barracks and war zones via email and other Internet tools, rarely do they reach the masses. Sometimes it takes a skilled hand and a known face, because no matter what critics say about celebrities lending themselves to various causes, it is oftentimes the only way in which the public will discover the truth. Movies aren’t always weekend entertainment; sometimes they serve a social purpose too. That’s where Kimberly Peirce comes in.

The 40-year-old auteur has completed just two feature films since graduating from Columbia University in 1996, but both have challenged and motivated audiences to join and fight for change. Her first film, 1999’s Boys Don’t Cry, took on the story of transgendered adolescent Brandon Teena, who was raped and killed by peers confused with her sexual preference. The movie landed two Spirit Award nominations for Peirce and an Oscar statue for lead Hilary Swank. Earlier this year Paramount Pictures and MTV Films released the writer-director’s second movie, STOP-LOSS. This time around, she—along with the film’s stars, Ryan Phillippe, Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Abbie Cornish—has put a mirror to the government, asking that they see soldiers as more than numbers, but as human beings—with families—deeply and forever affected by their experiences at war.

“In the film, these young men feel a sense of duty and obligation, so they sign up to serve their country,” Peirce explains of the movie’s premise. “But their black and white sense of patriotism and duty is turned upside down when they are faced with impossible circumstances. They end up committing a series of acts that force them, in the deepest sense, to question who they are, what they are and what they believe in.”

When we live in a culture of 24/7 news coverage it’s difficult to imagine there is anything citizens aren’t aware of. But America’s stop-loss policy—first instituted at the end of the draft—and the soldiers and families it affects, managed to slip under the radar of national news coverage, making it a surprise to most people that came to know and face it. Yet, since the release of Peirce’s STOP-LOSS, both major presidential nominees have addressed the topic on the campaign trail, the Canadian Parliament has approved residency for stop-loss soldiers seeking asylum and a stop-loss compensation act is being discussed that would provide money to soldiers called for multiple tours of duty.

Leading up to the movie’s DVD release on July 8, Peirce spent some time speaking with MM about the issues surrounding it and how the efforts made by a moviemaker brought this issue to light in ways no one has ever experienced before.

Mallory Potosky (MM): When the movie first came out in theaters, you did a lot of promotion by going across the country and speaking with veterans, soldiers and their families. Did you find that affected how you saw the movie that you had made? Did you find anything you would have done differently, maybe anything you should have added or left out? Did they present anything different than a regular audience might have?

Kimberly Peirce (KP): Well, they certainly presented something different than a regular audience, in that for them it was personal. They weren’t used to seeing their own reflection in movies. We certainly make war movies and movies about soldiers but we don’t often go as deeply inside the soldier’s point of view, I don’t think (at least from what they said). When they saw the movie, we had a number of soldiers literally stand up and say, “I don’t understand how you were able to get it so accurate. I was over there and this is very much what it’s like.” And I think that was because I interviewed so many soldiers to make it. There was a real appreciation of there being a document of their emotional experience—so that was really moving—and also, the families often say their stories aren’t really being told. I think what the movie really tries to do is mix mass entertainment with my sort of documentary style.

There was something interesting in San Diego. The Wounded Warriors were there—it was a group that unfortunately had lost limbs or been hurt due to warfare—and they were guys who when you asked them, “How do you feel about the war and your experience?” they were like, “Well if I had my limbs, I would go back.” And they said, “Thank you for making it so accurate.” So it was really interesting to see people who were both pro- and anti-war being supportive of the movie; being able to say, “It doesn’t take a side. It really shows it from our point of view.”

MM: Well, that brings me to my next two questions. First is that soldiers said it was emotionally accurate, not just visually accurate. So did you find that anyone really responded to one character or another?

KP: Well, there’s a guy named Colby Buzzell who has a fascinating story. He wrote a book called My War. It was an award-winning book and he had one of the most trafficked Online sites while he was fighting. He had a blog and he got out for three years and he just got stop-lossed recently. He actually got out for three years and now he’s being sent back. We started communicating because he has a very public profile as a soldier. It was very moving to me that he said, “I couldn’t believe, when I was watching your movie, it felt exactly like what happened when I got stop-lossed, which is that I could not believe this was happening to me after I already fought.” So, having soldiers say stuff like that has been the most common reaction. Soldiers who have been stop-lossed say that’s exactly what it felt like.

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