Justen Smith, Contributor
In “American Sniper,” Bradley Cooper plays Chris Kyle, the most deadly sniper in the history of the U.S. Military. The film chronicles his life, including his Texan roots, enlistment in the Navy SEALs, numerous tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and his family life. Cooper is a great actor and portrays this film’s version of Kyle very well, playing him very subtly. Despite a questionable southern accent, Cooper pulls off the effect of a soldier trying to remain humble in the face of a reputation. If only the rest of the movie was as interesting.
Eastwood’s directorial style is in full effect here, displaying the life of Kyle in a very bare-bones way with very little subtext. My issue here is that there isn’t much depth to the man the movie is trying to present. His mindset changes very little and he’s presented more as a prop that the world rotates around rather than a human being that is affected by his surroundings and choices. Despite the actions he chooses or is forced to take throughout the film, he remains as steadfast in his stance on the military and his actions. The propaganda vibe stems from this. He never has any real internal conflicts outside of the idea that he didn’t save enough American troops, despite killing quite a large number of enemy forces. In other words, he’s painted as the perfect American hero, free of any contemplation or questioning of the U.S. Military. His only concern, at least in this movie, was that he was not valiant enough to be more of that archetype.
Now the flip side to these parts comes in the form of the PTSD scenes. Kyle becomes increasingly uncomfortable in domestic life, often becoming agitated and unreasonably anxious in otherwise low-stress situations. I think these scenes were done very well, but there could have been much more. It all feels relatively castrated in comparison to the violence we see earlier in the film. By the end, this seems to be only a minor concern for Kyle, despite having spent several tours in a warzone.
In closing, American Sniper is a movie that’s very well shot, well acted, and well intentioned, but the lack of real bite in the parts that really matter hold it back from being something special.
