American Sniper
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Keir O'Donnell, and Sam Jaeger.
Rated R for strong and disturbing war violence, and language throughout including some sexual references.
Clint Eastwood has established himself as one of the elite members of Hollywood royalty, having had an iconic acting career with some stellar films as a director. Much of his recent work hasn't stood up against some of his earlier accolades, but with American Sniper he delivers his best since Gran Torino.
American Sniper tells the true life story of decorated and celebrated SEAL sniper, Chris Kyle (Cooper). Born and raised in Texas, Kyle has always been the type to fight for those who can't fight for themselves. Once terrorist attacks threaten America lives, he feels a sense of duty to serve his country protecting his fellow brothers in arms. After enduring the arduous SEAL training, he meets and marries the lovely Taya (Miller). When the 9/11 attacks take place Kyle finds himself starting the first of four tours overseas in Iraq. There he gains the nickname "The Legend" as he establishes himself as the most lethal sniper in American history.
Sniper avoids dealing with the politics of war and chooses to focus on the men on the ground who have no one else but their comrades. No one feels this protective sense of duty more than Chris Kyle. Though the film doesn't bring anything new to the war genre, it doesn't get stuck in the cliche traps it dances around, mostly because these characters are real and strongly developed, particularly Kyle. Each kill he makes takes a toll on him, but what weighs even more on his conscience are the American lives he didn't save. When he's home with his family, he's not really there. Sure, PTSD has an effect on him, but not in the way you might imagine. He feels the need to return for more tours so that he can continue protecting more American soldiers.
Eastwood wisely focuses on the strength of Kyle's character more so than his accolades in the war. The sniper and battle sequences are layered with great intensity and are very sobering. Cooper has established himself as one of Hollywood's best leading men, and his talents are on full display here. He may not be the favorite in the Oscar race for Best Actor, and perhaps there were others that were better (my argument is for Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler), but he turns in an exceptional performance as Kyle. Sienna Miller also shows some range that I had not previously seen from her.
I don't have much to criticize here, but I would have liked to have seen more interaction (positive or negative) between Kyle and his children in between tours, but really that's just nitpicking. At first Hollywood seemed to struggle finding success with its post 9/11 war films, but in recent years we've seen a handful of winners, and American Sniper can easily find its place among the best of them. Though it's technically 2015, this is certainly one of the better films produced in 2014 and is forcing me to reevaluate my Top 10 list before it's officially posted.
RATING: A-
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