Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs: 'American Sniper' Review

"Stupid analysis": this is the response Clint Eastwood has made to many critics who regard his latest effort American Sniper as a Pro-War on Terror polemic and a piece of nationalist propaganda. To call this interpretation of American Sniper an act of stupidity is a bit strong, rather more an act of misinterpretation. There is indeed a lot of imagery in American Sniper that backs up this interpretation. Flag-waving and patriotic sensibility is indeed there. But to call the film a polemic in this right is a bit strong. The director does show the horrors of war and what the soldier must go through to regain his humanity. The film does exhibit some anti-war sentiment as well but this does seem rather fleeting and although I do not interpret the film as pro-war polemic I can see how some have when it is taken at face value. That is not to say that Mr Eastwood doesn't have anything to answer for morally. There are patches in American Sniper that do feel incredibly uncomfortable. However, there is one quality of American Sniper that Clint Eastwood does have to answer for above all else: the fact that American Sniper is incredibly dull.

Usually this is where I would hash out a brief synopsis of the film but since there has been so much controversy surrounding the movie I feel there is little point. Still, for those who have been living under a rock, I will iterate that American Sniper is the story of US Navy SEAL and record-holding sniper Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) and several of his tours of duty in Iraq. During the tours we see Kyle break the record for longest confirmed kill in US military history, take out enemies from rooftops and develop relationships with other soldiers that I hope were more meaningful in reality that they were portrayed in this film. The film is equally as concerned with Kyle's home life with his wife Taya Renae Kyle (Sienna Miller) and Chris's inability to adjust back to civilian life. 

Firstly, I would like to iterate that I do not feel that this film is simply a shallow celebration of a killer. Chris Kyle was a killer, no doubt. He shot people from rooftops and some of these people were women and children, people he believed could bring harm to his fellow soldiers. As Kyle's father relays in the film's early stages, there are three types of people: sheep, wolves and sheepdogs. Kyle sees himself as the sheepdog, protecting the sheep. One of my problems with American Sniper is that it doesn't raise one question: what happened when Kyle got it wrong? What happened when he accidentally killed a sheep instead of a wolf? A lot of the film also focuses on the one-on-one conflict between Kyle and an opposing Iraqi sniper. The Iraqi sniper also is a skilled marksman. The Iraqi sniper also kills enemies from rooftops. What is the only difference is that this marksman is not portrayed as someone who is simply looking out for his allies. He is the shallow killer of the film, not Kyle. This is what is most disappointing. Although these two adversaries are not totally dissimilar in their duties, Kyle appears to be the hero and the opposing sniper the enemy. This is no doubt the appropriate mindset for the American soldier but this mindset is so stubbornly inflicted on the audience that is becomes extremely uncomfortable to watch. Whether this was the film's intention or not, the film forces you to adopt this mindset. I am aware that the characters were forced to see the enemy as subhuman but this could have been illustrated whilst still reminding the audience that the enemy is human. This is one of the reasons American Sniper seems to drag. This one-dimensional tone that wears thin after a while. This is wholly reflected in the characterisation of Chris Kyle. He is a sheepdog. This is all he is. He is constantly trying to look after others who aren't as strong as he is. This is somewhat of a shallow metaphor that becomes disinteresting and then tiresome. Bradley Cooper gives a solid performance. It's subdued, steady and fierce as opposed to the fast-talking, off-the-wall performances we have come to expect from Cooper but even this can't save Kyle from becoming disinteresting. This in turn makes the Kyle's relationships disinteresting. When a soldier dies it doesn't hit you. You're left trying to remember what their name was and even when their name is said you are left trying to remember where they even came into the film and who they were. In the end, the character list could have just read Chris Kyle, Wife, children, American Soldier 1, Soldier 2, Soldier 3, bad guys, main bad guy that is strikingly similar to Chris Kyle. There is very little character to the film in general with scenes that could have been recycled from countless other war dramas. For all the controversy, I really wish that American Sniper made me feel something. Anger, admiration, something more than the annoyance of spending my money.


3/10