‘American Sniper’ – 2014
‘Remembering our fallen heroes’ is one of those overused term’s in our country that most people say, but typically do not act out. Truth is, a lot of us probably would not be here if it wasn’t for those same heroes that laid their life on the line to protect our country. And yes, even today the word ‘heroes’ is taking on a new meaning with so many of our hospitals overrun by this virus. In either case, Memorial Day is a day to remember all those fallen American heroes, in war or otherwise, so it’s within that spirit I wanted to choose a movie that encompasses exactly that. It might just be my favorite movie with the word ‘American’ in it, which says something given there have been over 90 of them. Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper,” not only tells the story of one of our most decorated heroes, but shows us the sacrifice all our military go through each time they put on the uniform.
The story follows the life of Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), who after getting lost in life finds his way after just one news update on his television. That update was coverage of the 1998 United States embassy bombings that claimed the life of 12 American’s and another 200 local citizens. A short time later, Chris has enlisted to become a U.S. Navy SEAL and is getting married to a girl named Taya Renae (Sienna Kyle). For a guy with no direction, his life was changed almost instantly, only it didn’t get real until after the September 11 attacks when he was deployed to Iraq as a sniper. Chris had this innate ability to lead and was better than most, but when his very first kill wound up being a woman and child, he knew this would be like nothing he has ever felt before. Shaken but not out, Chris moves on and does so with more kills than anyone else leaving his fellow servicemen to nickname him “The Legend.” But, back home he was about to become a Dad for the first time and while that really excited him, his mind was still over in Iraq. So he went back out for a second tour, and then a third, and a fourth only to return to a home he didn’t know. Broken from all the lives he couldn’t save and lives he took, Chris struggled to adjust and eventually was able to find solace at the VA hospital helping veterans.
As much as I like Clint Eastwood, he was not the reason I wanted to see this film at first. Bradley Cooper was, in yet another role I never expected to see him in. What a change for a guy most people had pegged for a long career in comedies, romantic or otherwise. But, here he is once again showing his dramatic talent off, this time doing it with a strong Texas draw that almost was eerie. It wasn’t just the way he talked though, it was the way he moved and let the audience into his character’s personal nightmare. Emotional and often stuck in the moment, I couldn’t get enough of what Cooper was doing here. So, kudos to him for yet again showing us how great Hollywood can be when you least expect it. That said, he did have some help here with his on screen wife Taya played by Sienna Miller. What a performance by someone I really wish was in more films, but you in on her own anguish back home as one of the families left behind. It was groundbreaking and heartbreaking at the same time, but unmistakably honest the whole time thanks to Eastwood’s urgency.
At this point what else is to say about Clint Eastwood who just won’t stop. Hey, I’m glad as I have enjoyed him way more as a director than actor, but that’s mostly because I didn’t grow up with him like my parent’s generation did. And with “American Sniper,” you almost forget he’s the one behind the camera giving us all these shots we thought he have seen from a war picture before. But, for some reason it just felt different here, as he was able really take you inside the lines both abroad and at home with some truly incredible emotion that you couldn’t help but get caught up into. Every time I see it, I’m reminded just how engaged I get within this story, which is a credit to both Clint and his screenwriter Jason Hall who adapted it from Chris Kyle’s own autobiography, American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History. And to think Steven Spielberg was originally on tap to direct this until his ideas became too much for one film. Trade one legend for another I guess, but for what it’s worth, I’m glad Eastwood won as I couldn’t imagine this film any other way.
A