A Sheepdog and His Rifle
Everyone loves an intense, and an on-the-edge-of-your-seat war thriller. American Sniper is more than that. Clint Eastwood takes the life story of Chris Kyle, Navy SEAL sniper and war hero, to create a powerful, emotional, and awe-struck movie that hits the hearts of the people who love their troops and their country.
Chris Kyle is a Texas native who lives by two rules his dad taught him: we protect our own, and you’re either a wolf, a sheep or sheepdog. Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) is motivated to join the military after seeing terrorist attacks on TV. This then brings him to go through training to become one of the fiercest fighters in the world a Navy SEAL. Here, he shows outstanding skills in sharp shooting, and proves himself to be worthy of becoming a sniper to watch over marines in battle. The long quiet and dark moments, along with Bradley Cooper’s ability to show frustration, hesitation, and stoicism consistently show the true motives and reassurance behind Chris Kyle’s kills, which revert back to Kyle’s father’s words, “We protect our own.” The movie presents us with many difficult situations where Chris Kyle has to make tough decisions.
One that sticks out most, and happens to be the opening scene, is when Kyle is faced with the unimaginable decision of shooting a child or risk all of his men being blown up. Eastwood uses the technique of in media res for a number of reasons. The audience is thrown into the middle of the story at an intense moment that also defines the character of Chris Kyle. We don’t know the outcome of the scene and are left with question and eagerness to keep viewing. Towards the middle of the movie this scene is shown again after viewing the events leading up. Eastwood uses these techniques of scenes where the atmosphere is empty, but seems full all at once with senses heightened and all stakes on the line. Bradley Cooper does an excellent job of portraying how it must have felt to be in a realm of war and battle. Chris Kyle returns home to wife and children on a couple of occasions. These parts of the film are where one of the most important messages is shown to us by Kyle’s behavior. Many people forget or don’t understand the battle that soldiers and vets have to fight when they return home from war. Chris Kyle has major PTSD and is shown almost killing a pet dog during one of his episodes.
The closing credits of Eastwood’s film is a real tear-jerker. Chris Kyle was killed by a war veteran that he was trying to help. He hung around war vets to aid him in his own recovery of PTSD, so he could function in a society outside of war. The movie ends with Chris Kyle leaving his house with a veteran he is trying to help while Mrs. Kyle watches from afar with a sense of uneasy-ness. Then Eastwood puts recordings of Kyle’s funeral service in Texas on rainy day with thousands of people gathered to mourn the death of a true American Hero. It’ll make a chill run down your spine that raises the hairs on your arms and legs. I saw it in theaters and I have never heard a more silent and motionless crowd when the movie ended. The impact that Eastwood’s Film American Sniper leaves is one you’ll never forget.
American Sniper is quite similar to many other war films like Saving Private Ryan and Full Metal Jacket. All films show the horrors and intensity that war present and its dehumanizing impact on people. Full Metal Jacket shows Private Pyle (Vincent D’Onofrio) shooting his Sgt. (R. Lee Ermey) after losing his mind during boot camp. Saving Private Ryan shows similar atmospheres as American Sniper by creating a dark, explosive, on the edge, the calm before the storm, setting to make the viewer feel as if they are in the movie.
American Sniper is a brilliant film that recreates the story of a patriotic cowboy from Texas that does his best to be the sheepdog and protect his own.
