This Clint Eastwood biographical war drama can be viewed
from two different perspectives’. The first is obviously the politically
incorrect standpoint and the second is as a gung-ho cowboy film, but this does
depend on whether you can detach yourself from the dreadful reality of a story
involving the deadliest legalised assassin in American military history.
Texas born Chris Kyle was taught to shoot and kill animals
by his father, to protect his younger brother from bullies and to hold America
in reverence above everything else. In 2002 he married Taya Renae Kyle (played
by British actress Sienna
Miller) with whom he had two children. Following the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers
he volunteered for the military and was chosen for the USA’s special operations
force known as the Navy Seals. In this rather unique force he became a legend
as a sniper with a 160 confirmed kills with his actual tally probable nearer
255. During this period he served four tours in the Iraq War (2003 – 2011)
being awarded several commendations for ‘acts of heroism and meritorious
service in combat’ and receiving two Silver star medals, five Bronze Star
medals, one Navy and marine Corps Commendation Medal, two navy and Marine Corps
Achievement Medals along with numerous other unit and personal awards.
America love their war hero’s and its no surprise that American
Sniper (2014) is the highest grossing war film in the USA, its also
Director Eastwood’s highest grossing film to date and received six Academy
Awards nominations but only won Best Sound Editing. Kyle is played by Bradley
Cooper (American
Hustle 2013, The
Place Beyond the Pines 2013, Silver
Linings Playbook 2012) and received a nomination for Best Actor. The
screenplay was written by Jason Hall, based on the book American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in US
Military History co-written in 2012 by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice.
This fact-based drama was shown as part of the new Robert
Burns Centre Film Theatre Film Club season and was hosted by Rachel Findlay who
did a good job of introducing a difficult subject matter. The discussion that
followed the screening was quite intense, tackling such diverse topics as whether
the film was pro or anti-war, and if the movie delved fully into the problems
that soldiers encounted when they return from the battlefield and how they
adjust back into civilian life. My own personnel view was that it was neither a
pro nor an anti-war movie, but was certainly one that refused to give any
legitimate reasons for the troops being there in the first place. This act of war
that has since destabilised the complete Middle East, giving rise to the
Islamic Brigades and ISIS. We also discussed how it appears that Americas liberal
gun laws and constant reports of violent aggression has anesthetise the US
public into excepting that this and many other theatres of war are not illegal when
obviously they are and have been down throughout the ages. This is a film
primarily about the glorifying of bloodshed, death and patriotism, and the
misguided credence of ‘God, family and country’ and how men are so easily
dehumanised. The United States of America must revise their gun laws.
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