January
24
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AMERICAN SNIPER (15)
AMERICAN SNIPER (15)
Run time: 132mins
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes
Synopsis: U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle is sent to Iraq with only one mission: to protect his brothers-in-arms. His pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and, as stories of his courageous exploits spread, he earns the nickname “Legend.” However, his reputation is also growing behind enemy lines, putting a price on his head and making him a prime target of insurgents. He is also facing a different kind of battle on the home front: striving to be a good husband and father from halfway around the world.
URL: www.facebook.com/AmericanSniperUK
Veteran director Clint Eastwood brings us the story of Chris Kyle, who over four tours in Iraq and 160 kills established himself as ‘the deadliest sniper in US military history’.
Based on actual events and Kyle’s autobiography, the film gets Cooper to ‘bulk up’ to portray the Texan who was riding rodeo and killing deer before he enlisted in the Army to do his patriotic duty.
However four hellish tours of duty in Iraq – harrowingly and meticulously recreated by Eastwood in this his 34th feature film – soon takes an appalling toll on Kyle’s personal life and relationship with his wife, Taya (Sienna Miller) and young family, from whom he has mostly grown apart.
When he finally leaves the army, clearly suffering from post- traumatic stress disorder, he finds his war is not over, as he struggles to find a place in society. Ironically it is while trying to help other veterans that he is murdered by one of them, we are told over the closing titles.
Cooper and Miller give convincing portrayals in their roles, highlighting how Kyle’s trauma affected his character. But ultimately American Sniper, like Lone Survivor, is a thoroughly traditional American war film and how you feel about recent history will determine how high you rate it on the propaganda scale.
Images courtesy of Warner Bros
