hoernkeem Review of American Sniper

American Sniper (2014)

American Sniper (2014, Clint Eastwood) Flawed biopic wrapped too heavily in American exceptionalism

[6/10 · 11 February 2021]

American Sniper (2014, Clint Eastwood) How does one sit down and truly measure this film especially when it so clearly hinges upon the life and actions of one of our nation's elite SEAL members embroiled in one of the most controversial military actions our nation has ever been a part of. I want to try to give a decent analysis of the film on it's own merits but also speak to the merits of Chris Kyle's story as a whole. This story more than any I've seen in recent memory drums up strong feelings both in favor of Chris Kyle and his actions and those against for various reasons. Like most things in this world and most people who take up on either side of any issue the answer truly lies somewhere in the middle. As proud Americans we like to believe in right and wrong and good and evil simple as that. We like to believe simply and without equivocation that there is evil out there that would threaten us and we can just as simply root it out and destroy it if our will is strong enough. The world, however, doesn't exist that way. There is a lot of gray in between the black and white. I digress somewhat and mainly because so many people have weighed in on this movie. So with that preamble laid down let's actually discuss the film. In this film we are presented with the story of Chris Kyle who is America's most lethal sniper with 160 confirmed kills and who's actual kills probably range in the 200-300 range. From director Clint Eastwood this story is adapted from Kyle's wildly popular book of the same title. We are introduced to Chris as an average American country boy raised with religion and hunting which are ingrained ways of life in many of the rural areas of our country. In one of the most resonating anecdotes of the film Chris' father talks about wolves, sheep and sheepdogs in distinguishing types of people basically as predators, prey and protectors and from the start we know which Chris is designed to be. After a failed stint as a cowboy he ends up joining the Navy SEALs seemingly after being prompted to it by terrorist action which works in the film to fan the flames of his patriotic figure. Not much is discussed here about the nature of the Iraq War and because that is not an issue in the film I don't want to go very far down the road of Iraq War politics because it isn't relevant to the telling of this story and is a quagmire in any case. Chris serves four tours in Iraq as a SEAL sniper. Eastwood stages some realistic, tense firefights in the Iraq scenes as well as concentrating on some of the more seemingly moral dilemmas faced by Kyle such as whether or not to kill a woman and child who are running toward a US military convoy with what may or may not be a grenade. It works to great effect that at least in the film we never see him make a misstep in these instances. He kills the woman and child who are revealed to be carrying a grenade and then stays his hand as a boy picks up a rocket launcher but then at the last second drops it and runs away. In an effort to make Chris' and by extension America's purpose very black and white in this film Eastwood sets up some antagonists for Chris to battle against which take the form of a man known as the Butcher and also a Syrian sniper named Mustafa. Eastwood sets up and executes that battle so clearly that literally after felling Mustafa who seems to be Kyle's equal on the enemy side Chris calls his wife and says his time is done and he wishes to come home. This puts out the perception that facing a crumbling marriage Kyle continues to return to action prompted by a very specific enemy. With that enemy vanquished he is free to return to his family and a normal life. Interspersed with the Iraq sequences are sequences of Chris at home between tours. He is portrayed as a reluctant hero, which is truly how we enjoy our heroes, as well as a man haunted. We assume the haunt is some form of PTSD as he grapples back in the real world over life and death decisions he made. All along the way the gruff straightforward performance from Bradley Cooper keeps Chris on his virtuous path. When confronted by his wife he reaffirms that his rationale for going is he can save American lives which is true but probably not the whole truth. Perhaps being the best sniper he feels like sending lesser individuals not up to the task is unacceptable. Whether or not Chris suffered from PTSD he seemed to find a path after his military service days by working with other veterans. Ironically and tragically it was one of these veterans that fatally shot Chris in 2013. I understand quite fully that dramatic license must be taken when adapting true life events to ensure the story flows and maintains interest. This brings up interesting topics in the Chris Kyle story because so much of the story is contingent about how he is presented as a man and an American and a patriot. If you took away the true life nature of the film and also the tragic consequence his death I don't think this film would be garnering near the attention that it has been. The war scenes are tense and dramatic but nothing overwhelming and I've seen better over the past few years. It could have entered more elevated terrain had it dealt more fully with some of the family issues they alluded to at home but once again that wasn't the story that Eastwood wanted to tell. Most notable for me about Kyle's story on film is how events were deliberately manipulated to elicit the maximum patriotic effect and response. Let me say that I believe SEAL training is just about the hardest endeavor on the planet and the men who serve in the special warfare capacity are without a doubt heroes and Kyle is no exception. He served his country bravely and rightly deserves the moniker of hero. I worry that the story as presented on screen serves up a man that is served up as a comic book hero and not presented as the full measure of a man. He is depicted as the ultimate patriot with little to no human failings and as a result when the film ends with his death we are left stricken and dumbfounded. At the very least he was much more eager to kill the enemy than the film portrayed and from Kyle's own lips he claimed it was fun to kill them and if not for his family he would have never stopped doing it. Also there has been articles that have discussed Kyle's tendency to embellish as well as a lawsuit won against Kyle by Jesse Ventura which found that Kyle fabricated an encounter he had with the former Minnesota governor. I say none of this to disparage Chris Kyle nor do I attempt to tarnish his legacy. We are human beings and we have failings. While this is a decent film that's elevated due to the fact that it's based on Kyle's life as a U.S. sniper it could have done Kyle and itself more of a service by exploring more of the truth of the man in war and at home rather than painting him in these broad Captain America brushstrokes which garnered the expected rousing patriotic response in a great deal of the populace. Eric's Grade: B-