Clint Eastwood, 84 and with a well-established legacy, has granted himself free reign to do whatever he pleases. He’s still a workaholic and as conservative as ever, but he doesn’t quite have that drive and passion which made him a Hollywood great. All of these signs are most telling in his latest respectful-but-heavily-flawed feature American Sniper.
Based on the autobiography of the same name written by Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice, Eastwood’s newest film dramatizes Kyle’s life story, a Navy SEAL sniper with the more than 150 confirmed kills. It’s your traditional biopic, a by-the-numbers recount of Kyle’s life and his experiences in war and at home. It’s done diligently and competently, like all of Eastwood’s movies, but it only digs the surface of who this person is. As far as American Sniper would have you know, Kyle’s only flaws were getting PTSD and having a hero complex. It makes for a fine enough film, but also one without its fully compelling due.
But at the core of this movie is Bradley Cooper, working double duty as producer and lead actor, who gives one of his most versatile and sterling performances to date. His portrayal is unlike any he has given before, and it showcases the range and dramatic refinement buried within this rising A-list star. His care for this project — a passion project he shepherded while it bounced around directors like David O. Russell and Steven Spielberg — is evident but never overcompensating. He bulked up, adding thirty pounds of muscle, and he wields a thick redneck accent that, surprisingly, doesn’t distract and is also highly convincing. Cooper is giving this his all; it’s just a shame the director wasn’t as enthusiastic.
Since his unusually affecting Gran Torino, Eastwood’s work behind the camera became decidedly ho-hum. Jersey Boys was enjoyable, but generic, as was Hereafter. J. Edgar and Invictus, meanwhile, were fairly sluggish despite strong performances at the center. American Sniper more-or-less falls in the first category. His new movie lacks any flavor or pacing, bouncing between Kyle’s life events with rushed, undistracted care —save for Kyle’s Iraq experiences, which are realistically unsympathetic and thankfully uncompromising.
When Kyle is at the heart of battle, seeing the atrocities of war and forced to make unbelievable decisions, its tense, sterling and caring Eastwood’s vintage skill for on-screen violence. When Kyle is not battling terrorists or behind a gun or rifle, however, it’s a different story. Eastwood could not seem more bored by Kyle’s life story, lazily going through event after event with little-to-no regard for emotion or compelling drama.
The only moments which carry dramatic weight are the ones between Cooper and Sienna Miller, who plays Kyle’s wife Taya. Her heartfelt performance shines almost as much as Cooper’s, and she has a great, reflexive but believable chemistry with her co-star. Her portrayal is almost at the heart of the story, and, if not watered down with occasional melodrama and fake babies —or “fabies” — may have pushed the movie from good to great.
American Sniper doesn’t look like any of Eastwood’s movies of late, thanks to his regular cinematographer Tom Stern’s nicely downplayed camera work and color grader Eduardo Eguia ability to not make ever shot be black and grey for once. Eastwood is past his prime, and may not have another great film in him as a director. But he still knows what he is doing, while also understanding what his key audience wants and places his conservative politics in while blanketing them with patriotism. It’s deeply imperfect, and by no means deserves its Best Picture nomination. At the same time, however, it’s hard not to be swayed and eventually shattered by Kyle’s life story.