A 2007 war film based on the 2006 Mahmudiyah Killings
committed by U.S. soldiers in Iraq during the The War on Terror, written and directed by Brian De Palma.
This film provides examples of:
- Artistic License – History:
- The attack is depicted as taking place at night, whereas it actually took place in daytime.
- The film also inaccurately shows how some soldiers involved in the attack in some way avoid any sort of punishment, whereas in reality all 5 involved were convicted and sentenced.
- SPC Lawyer McCoy (based on SPC Justin Watt), while video conferencing with his father about what to do about the murders, is told to be quiet and not to report it to the Army. In real life, the father was supportive of his decision and encouraged him to report it. Also SPC Watt in real life did not go with the group to the house, but heard about what happened afterwards secondhand from another soldier, which led him to report it to the Army.
- The insurgents kidnap and behead a U.S. soldier who (coincidentally) accompanied the rapists at the house during the murders, as retribution for the murder. In real life, two soldiers were kidnapped instead of one and neither of them were involved. Also, the insurgents did not know about the murders as being perpetrated by U.S. forces (many Iraqis initially had thought other Iraqis had done it) until after the Associated Press broke the story about the Army investigating it as such.
- Based on a True Story: 2006 Mahmudiyah Killings
- Bittersweet Ending: The soldiers have so far gotten away with the rape, but there's a glimmer of hope in McCoy's tearful confession.
- Brand X: The unit the soldiers are a part of, "The 727th", is fictional. The unit patch resembles the insignia of the U.S. Army Materiel Command, albeit with a sword and the number "727" superimposed onto it.
- Composite Character: Various:
- SPC B.B. Rush seems to be a composite of 4 different soldiers.
- Master Sergeant Sweet appears to be based on 2 different soldiers.
- PFC Angel Salazar seems to be a composite of 3 to 4 soldiers.
- Fat Bastard: The character Rush was seemingly made to invoke this trope, along with Fat Idiot. Rush is well into the obese range and far heavier than any infantry Marine would be during a deployment, so it seems that including an unflattering American Stereotype was more important than verisimilitude.
- Fat and Skinny: Flake is the thinnest Marine and Rush is by far the heaviest and they get several scenes together that basically establish them as the film's antagonists.
- The Film of the Book: Inverted. The Jim Frederick book Black Hearts, released a few years after this film, is basically the book version of it.
- Found Footage Films: The story is pieced together from POV cameras from a 'documentary' on the U.S. barracks made by soldiers.
- Hate Sink: Rush and Flake are completely disgusting and, unlike the other Marines, have zero positive qualities or even hobbies besides being bastards. Additionally they aren't even good soldiers: Rush is very overweight, spends foot patrols eating chocolate, lets a fellow soldier get kidnapped right next to him, and Flake falls asleep at his post and awakes only to immediately gun down an unarmed pregnant woman. Rush and Flake are portrayed as being almost entirely responsible for the rape and killings in the film's climax, probably to spare the other characters from the
Moral Event Horizon. - Karma Houdini: The real soldier Flake is based on, PFC Steven Dale Green, was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment and died by suicide in prison. We never learn what, if any, punishment Flake ends up getting before the movie ends.
- Mildly Military: Despite literally being US Marines the American characters are extremely juvenile, careless, and unprofessional in almost every conceivable way. Somewhat Truth in Television as a lack of supervision and discipline was a major contributing factor to enabling the real war crime Redacted is based on but this movie makes it an Exaggerated Trope.
- Morality Chain: Master Sergeant Sweet. He's looked up to by the men, being a senior NCO. He helps keep the men disciplined and in line. After he is killed, the platoon goes downhill.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: The character of Lawyer McCoy appears to be based on SPC Justin Watt, and Flake is based on Steven D. Green. The battalion commander LTC Ford, is based on COL Thomas Kunk, and like in the movie, was abrasive and would often verbally abuse his soldiers.
- Only Sane Man: College-educated McCoy, who's the only soldier bothered by what happened to Farah and disgusted by the plan, who later tearfully admits what he knows.
- Southern-Fried Private: Flake is an especially evil take on this trope.
- Pervy Patdown: Farah and her sister are given this by soldiers at the checkpoint.
- Sociopathic Soldier: Flake, who boasts about murdering a pregnant woman by describing it as 'gutting a catfish' and feeling 'nothing', not to mention going on to rape a child.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: The use of the classical composition "Sarabande" on a 21st century war film.
