'American Sniper' as taut as anything Clint Eastwood has ever directed
Bradley Cooper delivers a commendable performance as Chris Kyle, the most accomplished sniper in US military history, but the movie doesn't plumb Kyle's psychological state as much as it does the acuity of Kyle's marksmanship.
'American Sniper' stars Bradley Cooper.
Keith Bernstein/Warner Bros. Pictures/AP
Clint Eastwood鈥檚 second film this year, 鈥淎merican Sniper,鈥� about the聽late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, is considerably better than his first, 鈥淭he聽Jersey Boys.鈥� As a piece of direction, it鈥檚 as taut as anything he鈥檚 ever聽done.
Bradley Cooper, carrying a load of added weight and a Texas accent聽a mile wide, commendably plays Kyle, the most accomplished sniper in聽US military history, with over 160 recorded kills through four tours of聽duty in Iraq. (The screenplay by Jason Hall was undertaken in conjunction聽with Kyle, who co-authored a bestselling book about his exploits before he was shot to death at a Texas gun range in 2013 by a Marine聽veteran. The veteran is now awaiting trial and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.)
鈥淎merican Sniper鈥� shares some of the same faults and virtues as聽Kathryn Bigelow鈥檚 鈥淭he Hurt Locker,鈥� which also focused on a soldier聽hardwired for war. (Although Kyle is a big supporter of the Iraq war, the聽movie avoids any overt politicizing). As long as Eastwood is showing聽Kyle in combat, which is a lot of the time, the film has a no-nonsense聽immediacy. Eastwood can charge these scenes with moral import as well,聽as in the sequence, early on, when Kyle has to make the decision to take聽out both a mother and her son as suspected grenade carriers. At his best,聽Eastwood can show us not only violence but its human consequences.
Away from the theater of war, at home with his wife (Sienna Miller) and聽family, Kyle feels unmoored. If the film had plumbed his psychological聽state with anything like the acuity of his marksmanship, we would have聽a masterpiece. But Kyle, the regular guy with super-honed killer instincts,聽remains an enigma. Miller鈥檚 role quickly degenerates into weepy-wife聽terrain, and Kyle鈥檚 re-entry into civilian life, where he endures PTSD for a time, is too sketchily drawn 鈥� and too easily resolved. Grade:聽B (Rated R for strong and disturbing war violence, and language throughout including some sexual references.)