Thanks to the Internet, news is available at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately, there’s still a tight control on things we hear about, and often times if something drops out of favor with the public (i.e. becomes too depressing), news updates on the given situation become more scarce until eventually they’re gone all together. Note the disaster in Haiti: there was a huge amount of news for awhile, then eventually the topic fizzled out. Haiti is in no better condition than was before, but as the news cycle continues, it’s replaced by the latest hot story which is then replaced by another hot story and the news circle spins and spins.
Admittedly, this isn’t exactly revelatory. People seem to be well aware of the short term memory news cycle, but that doesn’t mean anything if the formula remains the same. One story that ended up getting buried was the Patrick Tillman incident, which was hotly covered in its time, but eventually moved off the daily rotation, and forgotten by many. However, “The Tillman Story” aims to correct this, reminding people of the controversy, but more importantly, displaying what kind of person the man really was as opposed to what he was depicted as.
Tillman was a pro NFL player, and all eyes were on him when he opted to drop out of the sport in the prime of his career and join the Army with his brother following the 9/11 attacks. He kept his intentions and opinions a secret, hoping to avoid becoming a media icon. However, a short time after a tour in Iraq, he was killed by what was reported to be an ambush by the Taliban. The Bush administration, already gaga over a sports star laying down his football in order to fight the good fight, spun Patrick into a great patriot and pro-war icon.
The funeral was attended by many right-wing politicians and he was awarded various special ceremonies at football stadiums. The attention was great, but something seemed fishy, leading his mother, Mary Tillman, to request the transcripts of the investigation that took place following his death. It was soon discovered that her son was not killed by enemy forces, but instead by friendly fire. Feeling that her son was wrongly used as a propaganda piece, Mary set out to find the people responsible for the cover up and also correct the image of her son the media so wrongly displayed.
Although it would’ve been extremely easy for director Amir Bar-Lev (“My Kid Could Paint That”) to have made a Michael Moore-esque documentary with condescending attacks at the Bush administration, “The Tillman Story” instead chooses to make the film about Tillman himself rather than focusing on the controversy. True, there’s no way to get around the case and the government’s deplorable actions, but much of the film centers around who Tillman was, detailing his life from his childhood, his years in pro football, his marriage and his time serving in the army. This is what’s most important to both the director and the family — to finally set the record straight on what kind of person this man was: lovable, intelligent and respected by nearly everyone he came into contact with.
While the documentary follows a fairly standard structure, with many talking head segments and still photos, the narrative is actually less straight forward. We start off with the shady Army happenings, move to Tillman’s mother starting the investigation, and then spend most of the movie learning about Tillman via loved ones. It’s only until the last 20 minutes do we pick up the case again, where the family goes to the Supreme Court, questioning all of the top Army officials (including former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld). Any other documentary could’ve loaded the back story up in the beginning, but seeing his family wanting to uncover the truth when suspicions surrounding Tillman’s death arises, we want to learn more about this man who has been wronged by the political machine.
From the opening strong and chilling shot of Pat Tillman staring into the camera and introducing himself, the film covers a broad array of topics from the former policy in which it was illegal to photograph coffins of US Army soldiers being shipped home, the media’s acquiescence to merely report and not investigate official government reports on the war and an overall condemnation of the Republican party. Narrated by Josh Brolin, the film is engaging, frustrating, provocative and also happens to be one the finest documentaries so far this year. [A]