AMERICAN SNIPER (R)
Released by Warner Brothers
Review by Adam Mast
For those calling AMERICAN SNIPER a lifeless movie, you certainly saw a different film than I did. This isn’t to say that Clint Eastwood’s latest is a masterpiece, but it is his strongest directorial effort since 2006’s LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA. Of course, it helps that this iconic film-maker has Bradley Cooper in tow doing the best work of his career.
AMERICAN SNIPER is based on the memoirs of Navy Seal sniper, Chris Kyle–a good-hearted, all American Texan whose love for his family is only rivaled by his devotion to his brotherhood on the battlefield. During his four intense tours in Iraq, Kyle quickly becomes the talk of the war after his precise sharp shooting skills translate into over 150 kills.
This ultimately results in the saving of dozens of American soldiers, thus catapulting Kyle to legendary status. Through it all, this humble individual is seemingly able to deal with the psychological beating that affects so many other soldiers who have endured the horrors of war (including his own brother), and he does it with what appears to be relative ease. Of course, as Kyle continues to balance his physically exhausting service to his country with the complex nature of slipping back into the normalcy of a regular family life, this devoted soldier slowly begins to come to the realization that perhaps his efforts and the memories that come with them are, in fact, taking a toll on his psychology.
AMERICAN SNIPER does romanticize Kyle’s life and that will be a bit much for some viewers to handle but a bulked up Bradley Cooper brings so much humanity to the table that I was able to look at the film as more of a character study than a political stance on war. Cooper plays Kyle as a man who is great at what he does, but clearly, he doesn’t necessarily enjoy what he does. Look no further than a scene in which a stern Kyle verbally scolds a fellow soldier for exuding joy following a kill. It’s a subtle but very telling moment.
At 84 years old, Eastwood is showing no signs of slowing down and while AMERICAN SNIPER lacks the all out intensity and sheer dramatic power of something like Kathryn Bigelow’s THE HURT LOCKER, there is still quite a bit to recommend here. In typical Eastwood fashion, there are stretches of AMERICAN SNIPER that are incredibly restrained but the film’s final shoot-out is sweat inducing and the tension is only amplified by way of a brilliantly executed sandstorm sequence. True, Eastwood and his team don’t have a lot of interest in showing much humanity on the other side of the fence, something that even Peter Berg’s gung-ho Americana actioneer LONE SURVIVOR took the time to do, but that isn’t entirely surprising given this movie’s vantage point.
AMERICAN SNIPER does a good job showing us the chaos and unpredictability that comes with what Kyle and his military brotherhood commit their lives to and how difficult it can be for some of these men when they attempt to return home to their normal lives. It is subject matter we’ve seen countless times in movies (from COMING HOME to THE DEER HUNTER to BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY), but Cooper is so damn effective in this role that he is ultimately the key to the film’s overall success.
Where AMERICAN SNIPER falters most is in the final act. There isn’t nearly enough time devoted to Kyle’s bout with PTSD. We certainly see how this man is affected by his time in the field but such little time is spent on his actual dealing with his problems that the final thirty minutes or so of AMERICAN SNIPER feel slight. And it all culminates in an ending so abrupt, so anti-climactic, that I was convinced that I missed something.
Many of you, no doubt, know how Kyle’s story ends but I’ll refrain from spoiling it for those of you who don’t know. What I will say is that the final moments in AMERICAN SNIPER don’t quite resonate in the way that they should because everything comes to a head far too quickly. A shame, because had Eastwood stuck the landing, AMERICAN SNIPER would have been far more powerful. As it stands though, this is a good movie fronted by a great lead performance.
