

A veteran soldier returns from his completed tour of duty in Iraq, only to find his life turned upside down when he is arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army.
Acting
JGL's unraveling is genuinely devastating to witness.
Direction
Peirce treats soldier trauma with unflinching intimacy.
Writing
The stop-loss policy itself becomes the villain.

Director
Kimberly Peirce
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released in 2008 when Iraq War fatigue killed box office; earned back only $11M of its $25M budget despite Peirce's Boys Don't Cry pedigree.
Peirce embedded with returning soldiers for research; several cast members, including Tatum, have since cited this as their most personally affecting project.