I was a little concerned going into this that I wouldn’t fully understand the relevance of this story considering that the huge news coverage of who Pat Tillman was and his subsequent death hadn’t received much coverage in the UK. However, Amir Bar-Lev (My Kid Could Paint That) was enough of a draw for me to head down to see it and I’m really glad I did as the cultural significance really didn’t feel important enough to impinge this incredible story.
The Tillman Story tells the series of events of the NFL player Pat Tillman and his choice to give up a lucrative football contract to enlist in the military after 9/11, and his subsequent death in Afghanistan by friendly fire.
My ingrained cynicism made me nervous that this would be a huge hero story that overly glorified Tillman into a one-dimensional character, and the film does glorify him but for all the right reasons. Some of the best scenes are those with his family as they describe his character. His relationship with his two brothers is portrayed excellently and their use of bad language throughout, from a colourful eulogy, to descriptions of it by family friends provides a nice comic relief and gives a better sense of who he was.
Through descriptions by family and two particular soldiers closest to him you get a sense that Tillman was unusually humble and spotlight shy, considering his previous profession. He refused to give interviews at the time as to his motivations for enlisting and I found it really heartbreaking seeing the family’s devastation as to the media fanfare after their son’s death. There is a particular scene in which Tillman is being celebrated at a football game and you can see the family’s discomfort and pain at the sheer scale of the hoo-ha created, something which really opposes their son’s character.
The second strand to the story is the factors surrounding his death. The two soldiers who served with him, one of whom was with him when he died, give incredible accounts of what happened and the events of how the friendly fire occurred are truly shocking.
The film goes through the various investigations into his death, largely orchestrated by his family, and the unbelievable attempts to cover up the truth of what happened not only from the family but also the nation. It shows the incredible journey his family have gone on to uncover the truth about what happened to their son and have the people responsible for his death held accountable and you can’t help but feel shocked about the manner in which his death was covered up.
One of the aspects of the film I liked the most was the critique of the news media of memorialising him in an over-the-top way, for the wrong reasons. As much as the family are furious at the military’s handling of their son’s death they are also appalled at the use of his death as a propaganda tool which seems like a double insult to his memory.
The Tillman Story is a fantastically captivating and powerful film and the one benefit to his celebrity, in this case, is that it may highlight this incredible story and prevent another happening in the future.
No surprises here for those who have closely followed the Tillman story over the past five years.
The single best introduction to the story is Sports Illustrated’s 9-11-06 cover story “Remember My Name”
I’ve placed a link to that article & others in my document “Remember the Iconoclast, Not the Icon” at
http://www.feralfirefighter.blogspot.com
In his book, “Where Men Win Glory,” Jon Krakauer blamed the Bush administration and the Army for the whitewash of Pat Tillman’s death. However, the cover-up has actually been a thoroughly bipartisan affair.
In particular, the Democratic Congress and the Obama Presidency have protected General Stanley McChrystal from scrutiny and punishment for his central role in the handling of the aftermath of Pat Tillman’s friendly-fire death.
I’ve posted several documents at http://www.feralfirefighter.blogspot.com that focus especially on the actions taken by Senator James Webb, the New York Times Pentagon Reporter Thom Shanker, and the think-tank Center for a New American Security (CNAS) Fellow Andrew Exum to protect General Stanley McChrystal.
I’m glad you liked the film, but I’m shocked that anyone writing about documentaries would admit to having a closed mind about a subject.
Hi Anna,
Thanks for the comment.
I’m sorry if you felt I was close minded, I would say it was nothing more than self-confessed ignorance to the cultural importance of Pat Tillman’s story, simply because I live in England and this wasn’t reported on at all over here. That was what I was trying to explain, especially in the context of writing a review of a film on a subject matter I previously knew nothing about, something which was the main draw of the film for me.
Were I close minded I may have chosen to give this a miss on that basis, but as I’m interested in documentaries on any subject I went to see this and am really glad I did. I’m sorry this didn’t come across in the review.
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I am privileged in that Pat & I called each other friend. There isn’t a day when he doesn’t come to mind.
The most cited criticism of Stan McChrystal, according to Jon Krakauer who best represents Marie the widow, is the handling of the Silver Star. There was discussion within the family, at the time, whether or not to refuse the honor. The decision fell to Marie.
IMHO, if one accepts such a medal, one also accepts the procedure in which it was awarded. The criticism then becomes disingenuous.
Pat would be the first to say he deserves no honors greater than his brothers-in-arms also fallen. His football fame gave the family platform. Mom, Mary, used that to point out the deceit regularly practiced by the Bush administration & the Pentagon in particular. Her book, “Boots on the Ground Before Dusk” is the definative report of the family’s investigation into Pat’s death. Krakauer deosn’t even come close.
Pat would approve of this story even though he was only one of some 4,000+ also sacrificed whose stories will never be told.
[...] see the film at this year’s Sundance and absolutely loved it (The Documentary Blog review is here), it’s smart, incredibly shocking and definitely one of those films that leaves you baffled [...]
[...] Waste Land, Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath’s Enemies of the People, Gasland by Josh Fox and The Tillman Story by Amir Bar-Lev make the [...]