For her first film since 1999’s “Boys Don’t Cry,“ the raw drama that earned Hilary Swank her first best-actress Oscar, Kimberly Peirce initially wanted to make a documentary about soldiers who’d fought in the Iraq war.

Inspired by her younger brother, who enlisted in the Army after Sept. 11, 2001, she wanted to let them tell their stories of discontentment, of questioning the war, of going AWOL. Then she learned that one of her brother’s friends had been stop-lossed — sent back for another tour of duty even though he’d fulfilled his contract — and decided to make a feature instead.

Certainly there has been no shortage of nonfiction films about the war, but considering the frustrating unevenness of “Stop-Loss,“ Peirce’s intentions at least make one curious about what her documentary might have been like.

As director and co-writer, she tells the story of Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe), who returns to his small Texas town with a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, a welcome-home parade — and orders to return to Iraq, even though he thought he was done and was looking forward to civilian life. Instead, he flips out and goes AWOL, taking a road trip with the girlfriend (Abbie Cornish) of his childhood best friend and fellow soldier (Channing Tatum). Peirce shows some sensitivity to the trauma these men endure as they struggle to resume their former lives. But she also vacillates between earnestness and superficiality, making “Stop-Loss” feel like eye candy with a message.

R for graphic violence and pervasive language. 112 min. Two stars out of four.