American Sniper

by Robbo

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Posted on 3 May 2021

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American Sniper is a 2014 American biographical war drama film directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Jason Hall.

It is loosely based on the memoir American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History (2012) by Chris Kyle, with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice.

The film stars Bradley Cooper as Kyle and Sienna Miller as his wife Taya, with Luke Grimes, Jake McDorman, Cory Hardrict, Kevin Lacz, Navid Negahban, and Keir O’Donnell in supporting roles.

Growing up in Texas, Chris Kyle is taught by his father how to shoot a rifle and hunt deer.

Years later, Kyle has become a ranch hand and rodeo cowboy, and returns home early, to find his girlfriend in bed with another man. After telling her to leave, he is mulling it over with his brother when he sees news coverage of the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings and decides to enlist in the Navy. He qualifies for special training and becomes a U.S. Navy SEALs sniper.

Kyle meets Taya Studebaker at a bar, and the two soon marry. He is sent to Iraq after the September 11 attacks.

Kyle became the deadliest marksman in U.S. military history with 255 kills from four tours in the Iraq War,

After Kyle gets back, on edge and unable to adjust fully to civilian life, he is encouraged by a Veterans Affairs psychiatrist to help severely wounded veterans in the VA hospital. After that, Kyle gradually begins to adjust to home life.

Years later, on February 2, 2013, Kyle says goodbye to his wife and family as he leaves in good spirits to spend time with Eddie Ray Routh, a veteran suffering from PTSD at a shooting range.

American Sniper offers an intimate character study into the physical and psychological trauma experienced by soldiers on the front line.

Kyle is celebrated as a hero for killing 255 people including women and children and the film captures the angst he goes through to try to reconcile this, knowing that had he not carried out his duty then many hundreds of his colleagues may have been killed.

The film also captures the very real problem many servicemen find of adjusting to civilian life.

This isn’t just another war film it is an immersive character study elevated by a gripping performance from Bradley Cooper and powerful directing by Clint Eastwood.

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