Documentary Style
NarrativeThe Tillman Story
Award-winning documentary about the NFL star who gave up millions to serve—and the family who fought the government's cover-up of his death. A portrait of sacrifice and truth.
Year
2010
Type
film
Runtime
95 min
Language
English
Director
Amir Bar-Lev
Genres
Summary
Following 9/11, Arizona Cardinals defensive back Pat Tillman walked away from a $3.6 million NFL contract to join the Army Rangers. Two years later, on April 22, 2004, he was killed in Afghanistan.
He enlisted alongside his brother Kevin, refusing all media requests and preferring to serve quietly. The military called him a hero who died fighting the Taliban. Five weeks later, they admitted he died from friendly fire. Pat's mother, Mary Tillman, wouldn't accept the sanitized version. Through four years of investigation she and the family uncovered a deliberate government cover-up that reached the highest levels.
A portrait of a complex man whose memory was hijacked for propaganda, and the family who fought to reclaim the truth.