**** (Four stars)
“Team Lioness,” the five women profiled in Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers’s documentary, would be shining examples of all-American soldiers, except for the fact that they have actually broken the law by defending their county. While Congress has purposely evaded the issue of women on the front lines, the difficulties involved in the forced Westernization of an Islamic state have compelled the armed services to put these Lioness ladies squarely in the crossfire of counterinsurgency since April 2006. Though the women’s sob stories are of a well-worn variety, the film does produce a very affecting moment when the female solders gather to watch a documentary about their mission in Iraq, only to find themselves noticeably absent. Lioness mounts a full-frontal attack on our culture’s tendency to overlook women’s efforts in war, and does so with the elegance and grace that is traditionally associated with the gender.—Leah Beirne, account manager
[This is a TONY staff review, written for the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. It is not considered an official review and should not be read as such. Please think of it as a casual impression from a movie-loving friend.]