Michele (Abbie Cornish, left) is reunited with her fiancŽ Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum, right) after his military tour of duty in ÒStop-Loss.Ó (Photo provided by Paramount Pictures)

For her first film since 1999's "Boys Don't Cry," Kimberly Peirce initially wanted to make a documentary about soldiers who had fought in the Iraq war.

Inspired by her younger brother, she wanted to let them tell their stories of discontent, questioning the war, going AWOL. Then she learned that one of her brother's friends was among thousands "stop-lossed" (sent back for another tour of duty even though they had fulfilled their contracts) and decided to make a feature instead.

Certainly, there has been no shortage of nonfiction films about this conflict, but considering the frustrating unevenness of "Stop-Loss," Peirce's intentions alone make one curious about what her documentary might have been like.

As director and co-writer, she tells the story of Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe), who returns to his small Texas town with a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, a welcome-home parade -- and orders to return to Iraq, even though he thought he was done and was looking forward to civilian life. Instead, he flips out and goes AWOL, taking a road trip with Michele (Abbie Cornish), the girlfriend of his childhood best friend and fellow soldier, Steve (Channing Tatum). Steve is also home on leave, but he's a shell of his old self, as is Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the self-destructive Tommy. Michele is like a sister to Brandon, and Peirce wisely doesn't force a romance between them.

She also shows great sensitivity to the trauma these men endure as they struggle to resume their former lives, something that's been covered in countless other war films, from "The Deer Hunter" to "Born on the Fourth of July." Still, it couldn't be a more relevant or worthwhile topic, and it's the strongest of the many facets she attempts to tackle in a two-hour span.

But Peirce (with co-writer Mark Richard) also vacillates between earnestness and superficiality, making "Stop-Loss" too often feel like eye candy with a message.

- By Christy Lemire / Associated Press