Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Bradley Cooper & Sienna Miller
In A Few Words: Based on the best-selling book of the same name, this is the story of the man labelled the most prolific sniper in US military history, Chris Kyle.
Spoilers Ahead!
The ultimately tragic tale of Texan Chris Kyle (Cooper), officially
the most prolific and successful sniper in United States military history, has
been brought to life by director Clint Eastwood and actor Bradley Cooper, and
there’s nothing not to like about the screenplay adapted, mostly, from Kyle’s
best-selling book of the same name.
What many in the cinema where I watched a preview screening
on Sunday afternoon didn’t seem to know is that Kyle’s life was cut short –
judging, at least, by the audible gasps when the news was broken, by way of a
few white lines on an ominous black screen after the final scene – when he was
shot dead by a veteran he was trying to help. The irony of that is just
shocking. That was the depressing epilogue, if you will, to one of the best
battlefield movies we’ve seen in the last twenty years.
There are certain things you want to get out of a war movie,
particularly one set in the modern day Iraqi theatre of operations – you want
to feel the tension of house-to-house fighting, the hopelessness of the task of
fighting a group of men (and women, and children) who, for the most part, aren’t
afraid to die, the distress of men like Kyle, whose job forces them to do some
horrible things, you want to feel the nervousness of those at home, not knowing
whether their loved ones are alive or otherwise, and the pain of losing
friends, either dead or horribly wounded.
American Sniper
brings all of that and more. It’s a confronting film, beginning with snapshots
of Kyle’s life up to 9/11 early, before the bulk of the action shifts to Iraq.
Nothing is glossed over, not even the more violent and shocking parts of Kyle’s
story. Thus, it’s 131 minutes for those who aren’t squeamish. There’s blood,
torture, and Navy SEAL boot camp scenes that will make you feel uncomfortable.
That’s the idea of a film like this. As far as the early stages of the film,
where Kyle is going through his SEAL qualification, you get a better
appreciation for what sort of amazing athletes these special forces types are.
And they have to be, for the work they are called upon to do would ruin most
others.
You’re on the edge of your seat throughout, not just when
the action is on battlefields in Iraq, but when Kyle is at home, and struggling
with life away from the war. This is part of what makes American Sniper so
good: Kyle’s inability to adapt to life in America, and, as he states, the lack
of coverage, people going about their lives whilst soldiers die half a world
away. You see just how deeply Kyle is affected by this.
He wants to be there for his family, but he actually can’t,
and you see the painful reality of that, another confronting moment. Cooper’s
performance here is wonderfully nuanced and layered. You can see that conflict
in his eyes as he shuts everyone out, including his wife, Taya (Miller, in a
great performance). The war has consumed him, is changing him, and it’s no
wonder that he goes back for tour after tour.
Kyle is obviously suffering from a sort of post-traumatic
stress. No wonder, given the things he is being asked to do as his notoriety –
he is known by his moniker, ‘The Legend’ – continues to grow, working overwatch
missions almost on a daily basis, doing what he can to protect the Marines on
the ground. He admits to a psychiatrist that he’s haunted, not by the enemy he’s
killed, but by the American soldiers he couldn’t save.
The cat and mouse battle of the movie is between Kyle and a
sniper from Syria, “Mustafa” formerly an Olympic gold medallist, who has come
to kill the American, and earn the reward – up to $180,000 by the end of the
film – for that same feat. It’s not an easy payday.
Regardless of your thoughts on the war in Iraq, and the
obvious love affair Kyle has with firearms, this is a brilliant and
thought-provoking film. Clint Eastwood helms the production like the pro that
he is, and Cooper, unrecognisable in comparison to his earlier roles, turns in
the best performance of his career. I must admit I wasn’t sure if he was the
right guy, but I’m officially a convert. He really makes this film better than
it might otherwise have been.
Classy filmmaking, and a fitting tribute to a man deemed by
many to be an American hero. You may not agree with that, but you can certainly
still enjoy this movie.
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