As a nerve-jangling p.o.v account of one man’s experience of war, Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper has much in common with Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker; it’s intensely shot, brilliantly acted and fuelled with tension. However, Eastwood’s addition to the well-trod ground of elite lone-wolf solider tales feels lacking in originality, emotional intelligence or political analysis, settling for an occasionally thrilling but hazy U.S. heroism propaganda film.
Based on Chris Kyle’s bestselling book American Sniper: The Autobiography Of The Most Lethal Sniper In U.S. Military History, Clint’s film charts how Navy SEAL Kyle served four tours-of-duty in Iraq; his lethal marksmanship earning him accolades and awards as well as the enmity of enemy insurgents. Spurred into unwavering patriotism by 9/11, Kyle (Bradley Cooper) always feels justified in killing and defending his country against “savages” – even when they come in the form of pre-teen boys instructed to carry bombs. Eastwood projects the discomfort Kyle appears not to feel onto the audience, shooting through target lenses and forcing us to watch his victims as he pulls the trigger.
While Eastwood uses Kyle’s home life and the frustrations of his long-suffering wife (Sienna Miller) to demonstrate how war has left him withdrawn and dead-eyed, there’s little emotional nuance to this character development. Though Bradley Cooper’s performance is excellent, the repetitive and laboured screenplay relies too much on generic close-ups and tension-fuelled shoot-outs, placing little emphasis on exploring morality, post-traumatic stress or the politically subjective nature of hero narratives.