You can’t pull many punches with this material, it is in-your-face
aggressive and it stirs a reaction that stays long after the credits
roll. What
it is has to say is at times chilling and infinitely haunting. The
opening
scene goes for the jugular as Kyle (Cooper) stares down the sights of
his rifle
to the unthinkable. Through flashbacks we learn how he arrived at this
moment.
He’s raised in a disciplined household, becomes a rodeo star, enlists as
a NAVY SEAL and meets his future wife Taya (Sienna Miller). The two
quickly embark on a
life together and as their relationship grows more tenuous with every
deployment, life at home proves to be a different kind of war zone.
Storms of
emotion brought on by a wife’s fear and a husband’s dazed apathy.
In “American Sniper” lies a character study that examines the
heroism/protector mindset. It is the perspective that determines the
directive
and the film depicts Kyle struggling with a black and white approach to
the ever
complex moral conundrums he faces. The power of compartmentalization and
its psychological aftermath is never shied away from here. This is not
a war movie in the vein of “Born on the
Fourth of July”, there is no disillusionment. There is only a
strengthening
resolve.
For Kyle’s wife and the mother of his children, she wishes that he was
around to protect his family on a primary and permanent basis. Their
conversations on the matter are not the kind regularly depicted in the genre,
they are futilely anguished and raw. Replacing the screen time usually spent developing
the relationship between comrades, married life takes center stage.
It is this rarely vocalized side of the military narrative that gives the film one of its most thought-provoking edges.
Bradley Cooper is suitably understated in what is arguably his best
performance to date. There are two scenes where he particularly manages
to strike a chord. However,
he never truly disappears into the skin of Kyle. Having poured over
countless
interviews with the real man, there was a lightheartedness that doesn’t
come
through in Cooper’s portrayal. The solemnity he portrays doesn’t allow
for any emotional variance and his turn grows slightly stagnant as a
result.
Sienna Miller gives a strong performance that resonates with
its fervent sincerity. She portrays Taya’s evolution from the rough
around the
edges woman that Kyle meets in a bar to a concerned housewife and
finally a caring mom with the weight of her family’s world on her
shoulders. In terms of the
love story portion of the film, Cooper and Miller fail to ignite the
romantic
spark necessary to really sell it. As pivotal as the portrayal of the
Kyle’s
marriage is to the movie, the chemistry just isn’t substantial enough to
pull it
off.
Another distracting part of the film is the utilization of baby dolls.
At no point; do either of the actors actually hold a real
baby, throwing off the crucial moments necessary to invest in the Kyle's
as parents. The time span is also hard to follow. The movie takes place
over a
10-year period but you never get the sense that much time has actually
passed.
Biopics often offer the best side of its subject and “American
Sniper” doesn’t busy itself with that. Disagree or agree; these were a
real man’s
thoughts on his experience, unabashed and mostly uncensored. Wading
through all that is shown and stated is at times overwhelming. Walking
away with an appreciation for what veterans and their families endure
proves to be its most illuminating takeaway and it's a fine one. Rating: 7.3/10