Director Clint Eastwood’s provocative adaptation of Chris Kyle’s memoir is an absorbing look into the life of a serviceman and the toll his work and departure takes on his family. Bradley Cooper plays Chris Kyle, the most lethal marksman in U.S. military history. A highly publicized angle to this story, it turns out to be a rather small part of the overall puzzle. What Eastwood and screenwriter Jason Hall choose to focus on instead is the impact these battles have on his personal life. Presented from a single-person viewpoint its commentary is shared with a blunt candor. 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 discipline...