This is a late review for a film that has garnered much attention. I finally got a chance to see American Sniper this last weekend and aside from the quality of the film itself, it was an interesting experience. Interesting in the sense that for once I was seeing a highly talked about film months after it was released. This meant that I heard an opinion of the film from nearly everyone I knew not to mention any major news site I had visited. I did my best during the screening to evaluate the film itself and separate it from its controversy. This film, more than any other last year, sparked political debate which was fueled by comments on the left by Michael Moore and on the right by commentators on Fox News. I will do my best in this review to look at the film on its own terms and separate it from those comments, but, in some cases, I think the film begs to be talked about in a political manner.
This biopic comes to us from the veteran lens of director Clint Eastwood. Eastwood has a way of making films that feel like a piece of workmanship. In this way he is like the old studio director Michael Curtiz in that he isn't begging you to notice his directing. Some people see films like this and thin that the director is "phoning it in" by not having many "artsy" shots, but in this case, like with many of Eastwood and Curtiz's films, the lack of flashy camerawork only serves to better tell the story. It is a testament to his skill that Eastwood makes it look easy.
Politically this film has been talked about on both sides. It has been both derided and embraced as a propaganda piece and I think the simple truth is that it is not a propaganda piece. It also does not criticize the Iraq war the way that some seem to expect, and want, it to. It is instead a story of Chris Kyle's heroism told mostly from his perspective. You may disagree with Kyle's perspective but the honesty with which it is portrayed is admirable. If you embrace his perspective the film will give you a lot of reasons to be happy, If you don't, I think it is still possible to marvel at the filmmaking and acting. I think much of the criticism on both sides has misrepresented the film, but I think that particularly those who find the film offensive have allowed their bias to unfairly taint their view of the quality of the film.
This quality is especially on display in the acting, particularly by Bradley Cooper. This is Cooper's best performance and it anchors the film. Without his performance the film would fall apart and in all honesty this was one of the best, if not the best, performance by an actor last year. The war scenes are also well done. The structure of the film is probably its other greatest asset because it makes the audience feel and empathize with the main characters struggle. This is an involving film which is what I think has made it so successful, but it is deceptively simple. American Sniper raises some very complex questions amid its bravado and these questions help to enrich the experience. I think this was one of the best films to come out last year and it is one of Eastwood's better efforts 4.5/5
