MOVIE REVIEW
The Tillman Story (2010)
Donald Lee/The Weinstein Company
Pat Tillman was a hero. The U.S. government got that right. Yet the bungling of the story of that heroism, the misshaping of the late soldier’s legacy to fit a classical propaganda narrative stands as one of the shameful episodes of the past decade.
In covering-up the ex-football player’s friendly-fire death, transforming it into a story of demise amid enemy fire, the military hierarchy did more than simply embellish a tragic mistake with a feel-good spin. It transformed a unique, three-dimensional man — a person with thoughts and feelings, hopes and dreams — into a caricature of martyrdom.