American Sniper ***** (2014, Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner) – Movie Review

Director Clint Eastwood’s devastating anti-war movie is one of his best films, with several scalding, edge-of-seat, life-or-death sequences that will always haunt the mind. Bradley Cooper is great as real-life US Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, whose accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend.

Of course, after all the brave work, back home to his wife Taya (Sienna Miller) and kids after four tours of duty, Chris finds himself haunted by the war and mentally shattered.

It’s an old-fashioned war movie that could have been made much like this when they were in vogue back in the Fifties, a time still haunted by the Second World War, but beefed up with brilliant modern-day filming style trimmings. It’s a tough, hard-hitting movie, and it’s quite difficult to watch in places.

Cooper throws himself into the thick of the action body and soul. This is a truly towering performance of stature from an actor who can easily coast when the material doesn’t challenge him.

Where does the 84-year-old Eastwood get his energy from? It’s his second movie in a year, following the musical Jersey Boys. He’s no slacker, that’s for sure. He does a marvellous, high-energy job as director. How you feel he’d love to be playing the main role in the movie though! And what a shame there’s no actor cameo from him. There must be plenty of generals and soldier’s granddads to play.

[Spoiler alert] I have to say the real-life ending of the film comes as a terrible blow and awful shock. Eastwood’s film is a heartfelt tribute to the man and his courage. Is it meant as an anti-war movie? I’m not sure. But it certainly comes across as one. By the way, Jason Hall makes a grand job of the screenplay, adapting a book.

It was overlooked at the Golden Globes, but is nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Cooper) and Best Adapted Screenplay. It won the AFI award as Movie of the Year.

Eastwood’s been directing movies for more than 40 years now, back since his debut in 1971 with Play Misty for Me.

http://derekwinnert.com/play-misty-for-me-1971-clint-eastwood-jessica-walter-donna-mills/

© Derek Winnert 2015 Movie Review

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