Clint Eastwood's career in acting was made up of roles that saw strong, square-jawed men standing up to adversity and "the enemy". In later years, the Man With No Name softened and became less about shooting people down and more about what those people tick. Character pieces like The Bridges of Madison County, Bird, Gran Torino and Million Dollar Baby showed that Eastwood could, when he felt like it, cut to the core of what it is to be human and what drives people to do what they do.
In American Sniper, Bradley Cooper plays Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL credited with over 150 kills in the Iraq War. A Texan, brought up with a rigid, almost simplistic sense of what's right and wrong, Kyle joins the Navy out of a genuine sense of patriotism and a belief in protecting his country. The film is broken up into Kyle's four tours, beginning with an incredibly tense scene involving a young child and mother and Kyle's reluctance to engage them. Kyle's reputation in the service grows, earning him the nickname 'Legend'. He's seen as an invincible, ever-present protector to the soldiers below him, which leads him to believe that he has a duty to them - no matter the personal cost.
It's when he returns home to his wife, Taya, played bySienna Miller, that the cost of this duty begins to bear out. Kyle is suffering from PTSD, but his stoic nature prevents him from acknowledging it or dealing with. The scenes at home, which serve as the dramatic core of the film, are unfortunately the weakest. Cooper and Miller are both fine actors, yet for some reason, the scenes at home seem simplistic. Kyle's glacial cool ripples here and there, only visibly shaking at a children's party. We believe he's suffering - yet the healing process in the final act is truncated.
American Sniper's strength lies in the explosive, razor-sharp action sequences. Often brutal and violent, Eastwood knows how to pace an action sequence extremely well. The scenes zip along at a quick pace, cutting and weaving scenes that make it feel closer to a genuine action film than a sombre, character-driven biopic. Eastwood is smart enough to make these scenes seem as visceral as possible. There are no waving American flags in their aftermath, no high-fives to a thumping, bombastic soundtrack. Instead, Kyle simply sits and waits for the next one. At just over two hours and fifteen minutes, the film feels brisk. Introducing several supporting characters, the script does its best to make you believe that Kyle wants to help them and that they're important to him. It works, for the most part. Like Kyle, you believe he can protect them - even though, deep down, we know he can't.
Cooper's performance rests on both his charm and his physical presence. The film has an authenticity to it; you'd believe Cooper could handle himself and his bulky frame informs this. However, the effects of PTSD on him are only barely seen. Instead, we see him struggle with for a few scenes before he - almost miraculously - gets better. Miller's character serves as a reminder to Cooper's that he has a family, vainly attempting to bring him back to reality and understand that his brothers-in-arms are not his family.
There's definitely an argument to made about American Sniper's politics, and one could certainly say that the film is jingoistic. Kyle and his soldiers regularly refer to their enemy as savages - and indeed, there is brutal savagery on both sides. Yet, for whatever reason, the film casts judgement on them and not on the fact that Kyle has killed a small village's worth of people. Yet, when he proudly declares that he's prepare to answer for "every shot [he] took", you can feel a sense of hollowness in the words. He may be simply repeating them, but it's clear he no longer believes them.
In all, American Sniper is a well-crafted military drama with a strong performance by Cooper and smart direction by Eastwood.