American Sniper (2014)
D: Clint Eastwood
W: Jason Hall
S: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller
Well, this movie certainly has been popping up a lot in the news recently and probably not for the reasons it wants.
American Sniper is based upon the military career of the famous, if not infamous, Navy SEALs sniper Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) who is known as the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history. The movie follows his enlistment, his training, his family life and the four tours of duty he had. All of which shows the emotional and psychological baggage that weighed on him during his time in the service.
Let me get a few things out of the way:
1.) The fake baby is fake. Yes, there's no getting around it. The fake baby is one of the fakest things ever put on the silver screen. Especially in recent years. Clint and company probably should have worked around it and not have the main characters hold it during extensive shots.
2.) I am fully aware of the controversy surrounding this film. Many of which revolve around the content in Kyle's autobiography and various racist and bigoted social media posts made by people who saw the film. While I will be addressing some of it I'll be reviewing the movie as it is. Just like with any biopic, based on, inspired by of whatever kind of movie similar to it.
Now onto the actual review.
This was a film I was looking forward to seeing mainly because of the trailer. I mean that first trailer was truly spectacular. It creates a tense feel and makes you want it to be released as soon as possible. The thing a trailer should do.
After finally seeing the film I can say that I did enjoy it. And before anyone jumps to their keyboards my reasoning for liking this movie is not what you think it is. I don't like this because I saw it as a "'Murica, f**k ya!" movie. Or a movie that endorsed the war in Iraq or Afghanistan.
No.
I saw this as movie that shows what war does to a person. It shows how the man's multiple tours of duty had a toll on his humanity and his family life.
At the beginning of the film we see Kyle as a wild, fun loving, if not full of himself Texan. We see how he meets his wife Taya (Sienna Miller) and the stuff he wants to do outside of his military service. But after every tour of duty he has he becomes more secluded and isolates himself from his family.
His gung ho attitude on his service is clearly not healthy for him. One of the best scenes is after his fouth (and final) tour when he's having a drink in a bar and he receives a call from his wife. She heard that he was coming home soon and he says that he is. She wonders as to why he didn't just come home and gives his response while trying to hold back his tears. The fact that he didn't immediately go home and only at this point decided to let his emotions out more and include his wife in on what's going on.
I've seen a lot of posts claiming that the film is nothing but war propaganda. To which I have to ask: How?
At what point did the film give some sort of investment and say (figuratively or literally) that we should sign up for the military and that anyone non-American was bad?
I honestly can't think of a single moment in the film like that. And given Clint Eastwood's previous track record I have a hard time buying that he wanted to make a pro-war/anti-Muslim movie. I would highly recommd his movies Flags of Our Fathers a film that looks at the men of the famous flag raising on Iwo Jima and how them being used as a mascot for war bonds combined with survivor's guilt destroyed them, especially Ira Hayes (Adam Beach). For an added bonus check out the companion film Letters from Iwo Jima, a movie that looks at the Japanese side.
Or how about his 1992 Best Picture wining movie Unforgiven. The movie that has the line, "It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have." A movie that shows his character's return to his violent ways is bad.
This movie is in the same light. It shows that taking someone's life weighs a heavy load on someone and how this can have an affect on them off the front lines. Maya Kyle (in the movie) summarizes it best, "This isn't about them. It's about us."
Okay I apologize if that came off as a tirade. Let me talk about other parts of the film. First off, Bradley Cooper. Given his performances in this and in Silver Linings Playbook (2012, dir. David O. Russell) and American Hustle (2013, dir. David O. Russell) I can say that he is becoming one of my favorites. The mannerisms, the accent, his emoting, he's just amazing in the film. Though, sadly he still could not make the aforementioned fake baby look real. And while it is a great performance I probably would've nominated David Oyelowo for Selma or Jake Gyellenhaal for Nightcrawler for Best Actor instead.
Even though I like the film it isn't the strongest film out there. Probably wouldn't have nominated it for Best Picture.The previously mentioned Eastwood films are much better.
The movie does seem to stay too long in the war scenes instead of the family scenes but maybe that's the point. And, again, fake baby.
Also using the footage from Kyle's actual footage was bit schmaltzy in my book. I mean the movie ended perfectly there's was nothing else needed. I'm dead serious I thought it was great ending.
And it needed to pull back on the violence in some parts. The part with "The Butcher" killing a kid with a drill was a too much. You could have gotten the point across without lingering on the drill penetrating the kid's head. I know war is cruel and horrifying but there are limits.
So while this isn't quiet up there with Eastwood's other work, or other war films, it is still a strong film in its own way and at the very least it's a film worth discussing.
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