"The most common report about American Sniper I’ve heard from friends and acquaintances concerns stillness. Not specifically that of Chris Kyle, the eponymous sniper, or technique or those of the filmmakers. The stillness I was told about concerned the audience members after the last images have given way to the credits.
“'It was as silent a tomb,' one person said to me of the packed theater as the movie ended. 'People just sat and cried,' reported another, reluctantly admitting they were among those who shed tears. I can’t blame them, as by the time this stunning film is over and real images of Kyle’s actual funeral have finished, it feels as if one has buried an old friend.
"That familiarity is the key to the enormous power of director Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper, an instant classic that has made the late Kyle a household name. As portrayed by Bradley Cooper, he’s recognizable as one of the rarest breed of men, possessed of boundless bravery and a single-minded pursuit of defending righteous ideals. The Kyle of Cooper, Eastwood, and screenwriter Jason Hall isn’t complicated, but layered. Here we get to know an imperfect man whose facility with a rifle and character puts him on a course with greatness and tragedy, even though he put himself in the position to experience both, he sought neither.
"Beginning with Kyle’s Texas upbringing, where his father taught him to hunt deer, worship God, and protect what he cares about with any necessary force. He grows up to become an elite Navy SEAL, which sees him deployed Iraq when America’s war there is in full swing. From there, the story shifts between a compelling, somewhat fictionalized war story, and his infrequent respite from the slaughter of the Iraq’s worst days. By the time he’s finished, he will have 160 confirmed kills, the most for any American sniper in history, and will simply be known as 'the Legend' by soldiers in awe of his prowess with scoped weaponry.
"The Republican Eastwood holds dovish politics when it comes to foreign engagements, but American Sniper is entirely free of ideological hectoring. Instead, it resonates as a morally crystalline examination of one of this century’s great warriors, arguing that men such as Kyle are needed to make horrible decisions and shed blood by the gallon. In that way, American Sniper is shrewdly inclusive, allowing for people of widely varying ideologies to unite in sympathy for this bear of a man who embodies the values we hope for in our servicemen.
"There’s no want for blistering action, the kind that undoubtedly drew in many of the film’s gargantuan audience, and Eastwood constructs his myriad battle scenes with clarity, eschewing the nearly ubiquitous shaky cam work for composed shots and clear editing that make the fights exciting for us, confusing for the participants, and terrified for both.
"But, unexpectedly, the stateside moments supply dramatic tension equal to those in Iraq. Through them we get to know Taya (Sienna Miller), Kyle’s faithful wife who waits at home, frightened by death counts plastered on TV and phone calls that end with thunderous gunfire. It’s made clear that Taya, like countless other spouses and family members, is an ancillary participant in the conflict, safe from physical violence but stricken with anxiety, fear, and the ever-present possibility of loss. Cooper and Miller’s easy chemistry sparks and lights into an enduring emotional flame, their relationship rendered with moving intimacy and tenderness, imbuing Kyle’s life with purpose beyond his love of country and commitment to service.
"When Kyle returns home, Taya can sense him slipping away, the disconnect between war’s inferno and the mundane concerns of civilian life draining his mental vitality. Not since The Best Years of Our Lives in 1946 has an American film so poignantly explored the way war’s horrors can taint and possibly destroy even its strongest survivors. Its empathy is vast, even as Eastwood and company take no pity on the 'savages' who Kyle slays with unmatched efficiency.
"With this, Cooper cements his status as one of his generation’s preeminent actors, if not the. Also producing, he manages a disappearing act as Kyle, adding 40 lbs of mass and affecting an impeccable Texan accent, balancing understatement even as he conveys laser-focused ferocity.
"Whether he’s charming his future wife, consulting with disabled veterans, or putting a .338 slug through the body of an al-Qaeda fighter at 2100 yards, a false moment is nowhere to be found, a trace of the actor not in sight. When forced to make difficult calls, or having a tearful call with his wife, his eyes flicker with the weight of anguish shouldered by a capable. Cooper turns Kyle into a screen figure you just know, as if you could reach out and shake his hand.
"At 84-years-old, Eastwood has directed one of the best films of his career. His films as a director have been uneven, ranging from phenomenal (Unforgiven) to unremarkable (Invictus). Here, his he has a film that doesn’t feel like it was made by a young man, but by a wise one, sensitive to the turmoil of the human spirit, confident in the warm light of goodness, saddened by the evil that blots the soul. The final moments are of such impact that stillness may be the only reaction that makes sense other than tears." ~ James Frazier
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