Diving a little deeper into the politics of the film, however, I can't help but wonder to what extent the film represents Eastwood's views on war and not Kyle's. Though the film follows the basic plot of Kyle's book and clearly aims to portray him realistically as much as possible, I found that the underlying messages about war largely contradicted the messages I got while reading Kyle's autobiography.
Director Clint Eastwood is largely anti-war and anti-violence. In his own words, he was "against going into the war in Iraq." He has also stated that he was against many other wars the US fought in; Eastwood believes that war is "intrinsically destructive to warriors." These political views are seen in American Sniper. For instance, high-ranking military officials are portrayed as out-of-touch with what goes on on the battle field, as asking all the wrong questions, and plainly unknowledgeable about the details of what soldiers go through, what should be done in battle, etc. This reverence of the warrior and unaccepting portrayal of commanding officers reflects Eastwood's opinions on war; not Kyle's. In fact, after reading Chris Kyle's autobiography, my understanding of his views on war is that it is good and necessary to protect our country and our people.
Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle
While I felt that Eastwood's attitude toward war- not Kyle's- were evident in the film, I truly feel that Bradley Cooper's portrayal of Chris Kyle was true-to-heart and accurate, as were the director's decisions on how to portray Kyle. In other words, I feel that this aspect of the film truly honored Chris Kyle's autobiography- his own words and feelings. For example, there is a scene in the movie where Kyle meets with a psychologist at a hospital for war veterans. He tells the doctor that he only regrets that he could not save more of his men. In his autobiography, Kyle emphasizes this fact: he did not regret killing so many enemies, only that he could not save more Americans. Overall, American Sniper was an accurate portrayal of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle's journey as a soldier, father, husband, and veteran.
Director Clint Eastwood is largely anti-war and anti-violence. In his own words, he was "against going into the war in Iraq." He has also stated that he was against many other wars the US fought in; Eastwood believes that war is "intrinsically destructive to warriors." These political views are seen in American Sniper. For instance, high-ranking military officials are portrayed as out-of-touch with what goes on on the battle field, as asking all the wrong questions, and plainly unknowledgeable about the details of what soldiers go through, what should be done in battle, etc. This reverence of the warrior and unaccepting portrayal of commanding officers reflects Eastwood's opinions on war; not Kyle's. In fact, after reading Chris Kyle's autobiography, my understanding of his views on war is that it is good and necessary to protect our country and our people.
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| Chris Kyle and wife, Taya |
Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle
While I felt that Eastwood's attitude toward war- not Kyle's- were evident in the film, I truly feel that Bradley Cooper's portrayal of Chris Kyle was true-to-heart and accurate, as were the director's decisions on how to portray Kyle. In other words, I feel that this aspect of the film truly honored Chris Kyle's autobiography- his own words and feelings. For example, there is a scene in the movie where Kyle meets with a psychologist at a hospital for war veterans. He tells the doctor that he only regrets that he could not save more of his men. In his autobiography, Kyle emphasizes this fact: he did not regret killing so many enemies, only that he could not save more Americans. Overall, American Sniper was an accurate portrayal of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle's journey as a soldier, father, husband, and veteran.
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