 "Photo: Paramount Pictures")
"Stop-Loss," the sophomore effort from the acclaimed director Kimberly Pierce ("Boys Don't Cry"), centers on the human side to the Iraq war.
Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillipe) returns home to Texas after a tour in Iraq. Just as he tries to get out of the military, he is "stop-lossed" or the backend draft, (a military procedure that can force soldiers back into war through a loophole in their contracts). The film focuses on his fight to stay home while depicting the lives of his fellow soldiers in the same situation, including "10 Things I Hate About You" alum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
In two sets of college conference calls, I was able to talk to both Gordon-Levitt and Phillipe about their experience taking on the role of a soldier and their perspectives on the War in Iraq.
From the interview with Joseph Gordon-Levitt:
Q: Describe your character in this movie, is he anything like what you have played before?
A: No. I mean every character's different of course. But no, I've have never played a soldier before and I have never considered what it's like to be a soldier... Most of us Americans who get our point of view on the war in Iraq from the TV and from the newspaper, we never really hear what it's like to actually be a human being over there. We're told of soldiers in terms of numbers, and in terms of politics. And the fact is that the guys over there, the men and women over there, they are not just numbers and they are not just policies. They're human beings and that is what "Stop-Loss" is all about…It is trying to get people to consider it from the point of view of the human beings who are in the midst of this as opposed to the system, the money, and the oil and all the other things we hear about day to day.
Q: How would you prepare for this kind of movie because you said you've never been a soldier before in a movie. Were you able to speak with actual soldiers?
A: Yes, I got really close with a bunch of guys that had been over there and been through it. And the first thing we did actually was, when we got to Texas, was the simulated boot camp. Where we went out into the sticks in Texas for a week. There were five of us actors and four real soldiers making up a squad of nine. And there were three drill sergeants all of whom were veterans that had been in the military for decades. I stayed close with those guys. In fact, I'm still friends with some of the guys that I knew and there were soldiers around us all the time.
From the Ryan Phillipe interview:
Q: For the younger people who are underage and haven't seen as many war movies in the past and who are going to it because you are in it or [Tatum] is in it. What do you expect or hope they get from it?
A: You know, whatever reason people go, it's fine with me. And I think one of the things you said that is very important, young people haven't seen those coming home from war movies. And the point of this one in a lot of ways is that it is happening right now. You know this isn't "Born on the Fourth of July" which was made like 20 years after the war in Vietnam…This is happening now and the fact that it is happening primarily to young people, if you look at the average age of the listed man or woman, and I think that it is really relevant in that way and I thought it was cool that MTV came on board. Because I think that it is interesting for that audience to kind of have that connection to this massive war that is going on and that one candidate said could go on for a hundred years.
Q: Are you pleased with how the movie focuses on the more individualistic, human point of view of the soldiers rather than a more political analysis type of standpoint?
A: I am, actually I'm very happy. You know, you don't want to make something preachy or something that you feel has an agenda. I think that the best art, in any regard, allows you to make up your own mind and learn something and react to it and the individual does. I would not be interested in a movie that preaches, you know, anti-war, Bush is bad. You know, it's like people can decide that, people know that already. They don't need a movie to tell them, people know how they feel about that already. And so I feel that's an insult…
This story was inspired by a real guy who Kim's brother served with in Iraq, fought in Fallujah. You know, it's about that. It's about the soldier, it's about the human.
Q: In the production notes you mentioned working with, Jim Dever, as technical advisor and you also worked with him in "Flags of our Fathers," I was just curious in what ways did he help you prepare for the role?
A: Man, this is a guy that you wish everybody could meet. It's just like straight out of the Marine Corp Handbook. He was 25 years in service and was a Sergeant Major which I believe is the highest rank in the non-office…He's as hard-core as it gets. He is the best out there.
Q: What was it like to shoot in Texas, to take on that accent, and the mindset of a Texan when you are from the Mid-Atlantic area?
A: It was pretty funny to me initially and I kind of made everybody sick because I was listening to nothing but country. I mean I am really hip-hop, like that's where I grew up but I got myself in the mindset…You know I don't really own a pair of blue jeans but in my wardrobe I wore cowboy boots everyday that I was there. I think sometimes that the fun you have…I never thought that I would be listening to Toby Keith and Kenny Chesney. There is a whole mentality down there that you do have to connect to. To portray someone realistically I think that Texans think different and they are proud of it and they got a whole unique thing going on down there. You know, I am back to myself, but I kind of get into it like that when I am working.
Undoubtedly, the cast and crew got a taste of both the Texas heat and the soldiers struggle between the push and pull of the army and the life at home.
Be the first to comment on this article!