Tuesday Talent II: Moving On

LOS ANGELES, CA -- June 12,1992

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation applauds ABC's *One Life to Live* for featuring a gay character...A young Ryan [Philippe] displays his acting chops with his performance as Billy Douglas. Ryan is called upon to perform a number of difficult scenes, but none are as memorable as Billy's "coming out" to his parents. Billy shows bravery as he reveals his homosexuality to his parents so reluctant to hear his words. Ryan's strong performance is a gutsy one as well. Kudos to him for taking on a controversial role at such a young point in his career.

These days Ryan is out and about promoting his new film Stop Loss (March 28) which seems perfect this election year about Iraq. Perhaps it will put a crimp in the RNC's penchant for romanticizing it. Here's a viewer's comment from The International Movie Data Base:

I had an opportunity to attend an advanced screening of this film yesterday in Boulder CO. I am not in any way affiliated with film industry ... I was just a lucky walk in.

I'd seen a preview of this movie a few days before and was not impressed by the trailer. It looked like another belated anti-war movie (better late then never), with youthful actors looking ruggedly pretty for the camera.

What I saw was a fist full of reality mixed with a great story of, I guess, a youth becoming a man – not in a sexual way.

The plot is obvious from the trailer, so there is nothing I can give away. The ending was not surprising, at least to me. And the ending was both obvious and powerful.

The beginning is very life like. If you've seen *Gunner Palace*, or been to this war, you'll recognize it. It starts in a format of home movies made by soldiers who serve in Iraq. It was apparently based on the films and photographs shot by actual soldiers. Some of this footage was included into these opening sequences, much was recreated by the actors. So it is ultra realistic. The only way to tell them apart is to look for Ryan Philippe, who is good in his role but stands out due to being easily recognizable.




The film quickly moves into a war sequence, demonstrating the horrors of war. Do not expect to see the charge of the light brigade. It is not a massive battle, but you will see the bullets flying, and more importantly killing. If you were put off by the violence in *Saving Private Ryan*, you may want to close your eyes for a few minutes at this point. Past the gun battle we are back in the States. So the Iraq part is only about 20 minutes.


The real story kicks in when Ryan Philippe with his war buddies returns home a decorated war hero looking forward to put the past behind him only to find out that his contract was extended by the Stop Loss policy and he is to go back to Iraq. The film does not become boring or preachy. And through the main character's journey both we and he realize that he has very few options: go to jail, abandon (physically) the country and everything he is and has, or go back to war. What choice can he make? So what was my point about the "becoming a man" story? Well, the way I see it, the main character's final decision, is not just forced on him. It springs not from fear or just inevitability, but from his sense of responsibility towards his parents and friends – I'm not going to say 'country', this has nothing to do with flag waving patriotism. His accepting to go back, is an act of an adult. He accepts all the horror, the risk, the BS, the unfairness. He does it through a conscious decision. The decision is to take care of those who depend on him. That sounds pretty grown up to me.





Thanks go out to Kimberly Peirce, who wrote and directed this film. And directly in front of whom I was sitting quietly last night while she was presenting her movie.