Men's Journal

You may think you know the Pat Tillman story, but this stunning new documentary will surprise you.

By Scott Anderson

In the hands of a less gifted filmmaker, the story of the Bush administration’s campaign to transform the 2004 friendly-fire death of NFL star and Army Specialist Patrick Tillman into a stirring patriotic fable could easily have degenerated into a finger-wagging screed, but director Amir Bar-Lev proves himself to be that rare journalist who is comfortable with nuance, and what he’s managed with The Tillman Story is nothing short of masterful.

Bar-Lev dispenses altogether with the talking-head polemicists who might have been summoned to pile on, preferring instead to let the facts speak for themselves and focus on the principals: the soldiers forced to carry water for the Pentagon’s cover-up; the lieutenant general made a scapegoat once the plot was revealed; Tillman’s family as they became more and more determined to learn the truth (even if it diminished their dead son’s “hero” status). Most compelling of all is Tillman himself, the former Arizona State All-American infamous for brutal tackles who also read philosophy and Emerson. In Bar-Lev’s subtle, understated approach, each fact becomes all the more devastating, while archival footage gives the film a whodunit urgency and unexpected emotional force.

(Here’s the trailer)

Among the many startling images: footage from the military’s own forensic re-creation of Tillman’s demise, his brother’s blasphemous eulogy, and a halftime memorial ceremony at University of Phoenix Stadium in 2004. For the occasion a gargantuan jersey — half the size of the field — emblazoned with Tillman’s No. 40 is passed hand over hand through the stands as thousands of fans roar in approval. Curiously, the only discordant note comes from Tillman’s family, who, occupying a place of honor at midfield, observe the spectacle with expressions of puzzlement, even unease. In its kitschy extravagance, the moment is uncomfortably reminiscent of the Nazi Nuremberg rallies of the 1930s, and it underscores how readily the public appetite for idols can be exploited.

This may seem a churlish view given the sacrifice Tillman made for his country, but the very best documentaries don’t set out to provide answers so much as to raise questions, and it is here where The Tillman Story joins an exclusive group. Through the prism of Tillman’s life and death, Bar-Lev has
crafted a lasting meditation on the seemingly innate human need for heroes.

By the end of the movie, Tillman reemerges as a hero — just not the one we were sold. If you watch a single documentary this year, make it this one.

The Tillman Story is currently playing in select cities and opens nationwide this Friday, September 3.

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This article originally appeared in the August 2010 issue of Men’s Journal.