Stop-Loss

Stop-Loss movie centers on three soldiers who return home to Texas after a particularly traumatic tour of duty. Staff Sergeant Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) is plagued wth guilt about casualties among both his men and civilians that occurred while he served in the Iraq War. During the tour, he lost three soldiers in an ambush. On returning to their Texas hometown, he and long-time best friend and war buddy Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum) are decorated. King expects to be discharged, but is suddenly ordered back into active duty in Iraq, based on the military's controversial stop-loss policy. He refuses and goes AWOL, becoming a deserter. Steve's girlfriend Michelle (Abbie Cornish) sympathizes with King's refusal and travels with him to visit a senator, who ultimately refuses to see King. On the way they visit the family of Paul "Preacher" Colson, a soldier under Brandon's command who was killed. While on the road, he runs into another AWOL soldier who recommends a lawyer for him to go to arrange forged papers. They also meet up with Rico Rodriguez, another soldier under Brandon's command, who was blinded, lost his right arm and leg, and burned his face, while trying to save fellow squadmate Tommy Burgess (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) from a rocket propelled grenade. Michelle phones Steve and tells him their location. He comes in uniform to take Brandon back and tells Michelle he has volunteered to return to Iraq. King refuses to return and Michelle is furious with Steve and ends their relationship. King arranges forged papers which would allow him to flee to Canada. After a depressed Burgess commits suicide, King returns and visits Burgess's grave site immediately after the funeral and ends up in a fight with Shriver. King, his mother and Michelle then drive to the Mexican border, but King ultimately decides that he can't turn his back on everything he has ever known. The final scene depicts the soldiers going off to war.