Chris Kyle, the subject of American Sniper, was a complicated, often controversial figure. In the politically charged environment following years of an increasingly unpopular war, he emerged as the exemplar of all the things both sides of the political spectrum loved and hated about the American soldier. It is understandable that American Sniper avoids getting mired in the political conversation. This isn’t a movie about the righteousness of going to war in Iraq, or the various controversies that surrounded Kyle following the publication of the book from which this movie is based. This is a story of a hero, and the price he paid for his crusade.
“Crusade” is the operative term here. The film adopts Kyle’s stated mindset and basically presents the conflict as a battle between good and evil. Little is said about the impetus for the war, or the larger political context as it went on. The film reduces the Iraq war to a bunch of good soldiers trying to complete missions while evil people try to kill them and the innocent. This is a somewhat problematic depiction of the conflict, though it is an understandable position. The film, after all, is derived from the perspective of a soldier who seemed to sincerely believe that what he was doing was above reproach.
As a character, the film is fascinating. It is especially compelling outside of the combat zone, where we see the effects the war had on Kyle. The film’s strongest scenes take the most mundane aspects of American life and present them as horrors to the traumatized veteran. Cars on the highway are potential threats. The sounds of suburban life trigger the same reactions as those on the battlefield. The film doesn’t really do enough to develop the characters surrounding the main subject, but there is real merit to this exploration of this one man’s struggle.
But one can’t quite shake the feeling that there ought to be more. What ends up being most problematic about this movie is that it tries very hard to cling to a traditional narrative. It goes as far as to provide Kyle with a visible adversary, a terrorist sniper with skills equal to the protagonist. Given the very real horrors that these soldiers faced, it seems gratuitous to provide an actual villain. The film comes to be defined by its excesses, the movie overreaching as it crafts adversaries to justify its good versus evil worldview.
Clint Eastwood’s workmanlike direction serves the story pretty well. The setting feels a little indistinct, but this tends to be a consequence of a commitment to realism. The combat scenes are competently handled, but the film really comes alive in the scenes set back home. Eastwood offers real directorial verve in depicting the effects of PTSD. Bradley Cooper is really watchable as the main character. He wears the bravado well, and his expressive eyes go a long in showing us the toll on his character.
American Sniper becomes more and more difficult the more one knows about Chris Kyle. The man, though deemed a hero by many, was a complex figure existing in a complex time. Stripped away from that context, the film is still a work that is at times at odds with itself. It clings to simplicity when there something more complicated at play. It fabricates villains and uncomplicates the message. It is a fairly entertaining bit of theater, but it is a work that cannot help but be deeply flawed.
My Rating:
