'American Sniper' is heartbreaking to watch
Friday March 13, 2015 | By:Tony Baksa |
HAMBURG— I do not understand the controversy surrounding this film. “American Sniper” is a straightforward movie about a reluctant war hero. Chris Kyle is a Navy Seal sniper with an uncanny talent for accuracy. He is so proficient that he gains the title “legend” from his peers. What he does is not pretty. But war is not pretty. He is good at what he does. Often, he must make the difficult decisions. Aiming his gun at the enemy, which sometimes includes women and most horribly, children, are his most disturbing decisions. It is heartbreaking to watch. These scenes are harrowing and will very likely cause you to have conflicting feelings. But this is why Kyle is a hero. How many people could perform such a duty and hold on to their sanity?
As portrayed by Bradley Cooper, Kyle is a sympathetic character. His demeanor is very much like his director’s persona – Clint Eastwood. Cooper is masterful. Eastwood’s direction is sturdy and penetrating.
By the way, “American Sniper” is a true story set in Texas and Iraq. It is compelling and ultimately quite sad. Kyle’s fate is tragic and unfair. Unblinking in its narrative, we are shown battles and skirmishes with Kyle’s sniping as the main tactical maneuver. These are the scenes that are most wrenching.
We are given some relief from the war zones with family scenes back home in Texas, when Kyle is on leave. These scenes are fraught with great love but laced with unnerving anxiety. We know he will return to Iraq, culminating in four tours with the Seals.
So, if this film is to be believed and I have no reason to feel otherwise, Kyle was a hero. He was a decent man with a deadly talent that served his country. The devastating details of his life make him even more heroic, in my opinion. The so-called “controversy” regarding this movie is lame and insulting.
My one quibble with American Sniper is its failure to deal head-on with the final chapter of Kyle’s story. I would have preferred the film to include a dramatization of a key incident. The impact could have been stunning. Nevertheless, its final denouement still packs a punch.
In the supporting cast, Sienna Miller as Kyle’s wife, Taya, delivers a beautifully realistic performance. Taya is torn between her desire for domestic stability and her necessary support for her husband’s duty. As their marriage progresses, they have children and a seemingly normal life – except for his long departures when he must leave to serve his country. Her demands for this normal life are thwarted by his need to serve and the Seals’ need for his special ability.
The look of the film is rather mesmerizing. Eastwood shoots his war scenes so honestly. He forces us to be witness to what war is really like. There is one scene shot in a sand storm that is brilliant in its unnerving aspect.
American Sniper is not your glossy Hollywood war film of yesterday. And Bradley Cooper is not John Wayne. This is an engrossing story about true commitment, a believable victory and gritty honor.
American Sniper is currently in theaters.
http://www.thesunnews.net/index.php
As portrayed by Bradley Cooper, Kyle is a sympathetic character. His demeanor is very much like his director’s persona – Clint Eastwood. Cooper is masterful. Eastwood’s direction is sturdy and penetrating.
By the way, “American Sniper” is a true story set in Texas and Iraq. It is compelling and ultimately quite sad. Kyle’s fate is tragic and unfair. Unblinking in its narrative, we are shown battles and skirmishes with Kyle’s sniping as the main tactical maneuver. These are the scenes that are most wrenching.
We are given some relief from the war zones with family scenes back home in Texas, when Kyle is on leave. These scenes are fraught with great love but laced with unnerving anxiety. We know he will return to Iraq, culminating in four tours with the Seals.
So, if this film is to be believed and I have no reason to feel otherwise, Kyle was a hero. He was a decent man with a deadly talent that served his country. The devastating details of his life make him even more heroic, in my opinion. The so-called “controversy” regarding this movie is lame and insulting.
My one quibble with American Sniper is its failure to deal head-on with the final chapter of Kyle’s story. I would have preferred the film to include a dramatization of a key incident. The impact could have been stunning. Nevertheless, its final denouement still packs a punch.
In the supporting cast, Sienna Miller as Kyle’s wife, Taya, delivers a beautifully realistic performance. Taya is torn between her desire for domestic stability and her necessary support for her husband’s duty. As their marriage progresses, they have children and a seemingly normal life – except for his long departures when he must leave to serve his country. Her demands for this normal life are thwarted by his need to serve and the Seals’ need for his special ability.
The look of the film is rather mesmerizing. Eastwood shoots his war scenes so honestly. He forces us to be witness to what war is really like. There is one scene shot in a sand storm that is brilliant in its unnerving aspect.
American Sniper is not your glossy Hollywood war film of yesterday. And Bradley Cooper is not John Wayne. This is an engrossing story about true commitment, a believable victory and gritty honor.
American Sniper is currently in theaters.
http://www.thesunnews.net/index.php
