Movies : Movie Reviews

Last Updated: Aug 21, 2008 - 3:13:23 PM

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Standard Operating Procedure By Beth Davies-Stofka Jun 11, 2008 - 8:00:00 PM

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Standard Operating Procedure
Directed by: Errol Morris
Produced by: Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Julia Sheehan, Robert Fernandez, Julie Ahlberg, Errol Morris
Composer: Danny Elfman
Starring: Joshua Feinman, Zhubin Rahbar, Merry Grissom, Cyrus King, Sarah Denning, Janis Karpinski
Genre: Documentary
Release Date: April 25th, 2008 (limited)
MPAA Rating: R for disturbing images and content involving torture and graphic nudity, and for language.
Distributors: Sony Pictures Classics

Documentary filmmaker Errol Morris ( The Fog of War) returns with a relentless and painful examination of the notorious events of Abu Ghraib prison in American-occupied Iraq, and the infamous photographs that served to document the whole sordid affair.  Not at all an easy movie to watch, it is a must-see for thinking people hopeful of understanding the story that, whether fairly or not, has done more than any other to define the American military occupation of Iraq.

There is no voiceover in this documentary.  No narrator to project a theme or establish a context.  Morris does not begin by telling his audience what to think about Abu Ghraib, or even how to think about it.  Viewers are instead placed face to face with the Military Police (MP) who were charged and convicted of criminal acts at Abu Ghraib.  Only two of the MPs are missing from the film, because they are still in prison.

There are some moments of art in the film.  One MP's nightmare of an exploding helicopter is recreated; cards from the deck depicting America's "most wanted" from the Saddam regime drift through the empty air; ghostly images haunt the halls of Morris's Abu Ghraib set.  But these are quickly forgotten, because of the camera's constant return to its relentless and disturbing studies of the Abu Ghraib photos.  Always the photos.  The audience must face them and study them in all their tragic and sickening detail.

Without a Frontline-style voice of authority to tell you how to think, Standard Operating Procedure casts the viewer as judge or jury for the bulk of the film.  You are asked to judge these young people as they sit and tell you what they did.  Based on comments from people around me in the theater, no sympathy is lost on these soldiers.  But they are so clearly shattered that I found it difficult to judge them.  Like Morris, I found myself wondering why those who gave the orders have not been similarly forced to account for their actions.

Towards the end, Morris does present some perspectives that seem to summarize the story, and help viewers draw some conclusions.  Unfortunately, none of them are very consoling.  Can any good come from America's invasion of Iraq?  No.  Is there any hope for these young people who served in Abu Ghraib?  Probably not.  Will justice catch up with those who gave the orders, or interrogated prisoners to death?  Doubtful.

How can the United States heal its image?  That will be a long journey, and the outcome is by no means certain.  But unflinching and honest confrontations with America's crimes in Iraq, such as the one conducted by Standard Operating Procedure, is a necessary place to start.

Rating: 9/10

Related Articles:
Oscar Documentary: Iraq in Fragments

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