THE PAT TILLMAN STORY (documentary)

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Intterview with the director

http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-tillman-story-director-amir-barlev,44310/

Review

http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-tillman-story,44352/

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I saw this today. Very good and very sad. The way upper brass handled themselves in court is reprehensible. Lots of "I really don't know" and "I can't remember" and then laughing and back patting in front of the family when the chairman has no power to cross-examine or simply refuses to do so.

There's more to the story than that, of course, and the pieces put together makes it look like it was actually a tragic mistake rather than conspiracy, then a conspiracy thereafter, which I kind of wasn't expecting.

Tillman was disillusioned with the military when we invaded Iraq and was starting to look at the very real option of returning to football with an honorable discharge. The deal was being negotiated. I had the awful notion that the military was looking at all this and the possibility of losing a golden boy who was also disgruntled and that was a loss they wouldn't accept, so the friendly fire was arranged so the military could control the story. An officer later went on the radio and sort of smeared the Tillmans for not "letting it go," saying that it was their "religion" --since they thought of Pat now as "worm meat," they didn't know how to carry on. Wow.

Anyway.

7.5/10