‘American Sniper’ is one of the great movies of recent history
Published: April 2nd, 2015
In American Sniper,” Bradley Cooper portrays a hero, Chris Kyle, a righteous man who did an awful job, and was able to recover from the death and carnage he brought to enemies of this nation. His relationship with his wife, portrayed with compelling beauty and authority by Sienna Miller, is honestly presented.
Superb supporting performers present poignantly the awful cost of modern multi-deployment military service.
The film’s cinematography is brilliant.
The screenplay, adapted from the Navy Seal’s autobiography, is fraught with the horror of war, the conundrum of killing even in a good cause, and the dignity of many who are drawn into battle by events beyond themselves.
The film richly deserves its R-rating for language, violence and thematic content.
Workload prevented an earlier review of this masterful motion picture from seasoned director Clint Eastwood, a great actor in his own right. American Sniper is one of the great movies of recent history. It is highly recommended.
American Sniper received 6 Oscar nominations including Best Picture and won the Oscar for Best Sound Editing.
NOTE: This review first was printed at The City Sentinel, where McGuigan is publisher.