..whenever the left starts acting like disturbed goats, it's worth looking into...
Posted on 01/20/2015 6:45:54 AM PST by LS
Edited on 01/20/2015 9:23:47 AM PST by Sidebar Moderator. [history]
As he had in "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima," Director Clint Eastwood continues his exploration of the soldier's mind and personality with "American Sniper." If you expect "Sand of Iwo Jima," you will be sadly disappointed. Eastwood's goal is less to explain why men become soldiers---especially in an all-volunteer force---or even why they fight than it is to understand what combat does to a person.
How many of you have grandfathers or uncles who served in WW II, yet rarely if ever speak of their combat experiences? It is this "silence of return" that Eastwood seeks to address, and in "American Sniper," he does it well. Bradley Cooper, as SEAL Chris Kyle, faces his demons, not in Iraq while he is engaged in brutal, one-on-one combat, but when he comes home to a loving and beautiful wife (played by Sienna Miller) and his children. While he repeatedly tells doctors and his wife that he is fighting to keep his family safe, in reality he is fighting to keep his comrades safe and blames himself profoundly when one of them dies. The scene in which he says he could have done more, or should do more, are eerily reminiscent of Oscar Schindler, lamenting that he could have saved ten more Jews by selling his car.
But this is, of course, one of the messages of Christian salvation. We can NEVER do enough. There will always be a mistake, a lapse in judgment, a missed shot. Perhaps the saddest thing about "American Sniper" is that in the end, it's not clear if Kyle truly understood that.
The film begins with a young Kyle shooting a deer and his father insists, "You have a gift." As a 20 year old, Kyle was a rodeo cowboy until he sees the explosions in Tanzania and Uganda set by al-Qaeda, and he determines to join up. Convinced to become a SEAL, Kyle suffers through BUDs training---which is depicted here far better than in "Lone Survivor," even though in "Lone Survivor" the training consumes almost 50% of the book while in "American Sniper" it is proportionately much less. He then distinguishes himself in marksmanship, and is assigned to "overwatch," or the sniper watching over troops on the ground. His very first mission involves an Iraqi mother and young son coming into a street some 200 yards from an advancing body of American troops. When she hands an RPG to her son, sending him to martyrdom, Kyle does not hesitate to pull the trigger, nor to dispatch the mom who tries to pick up the RPG herself and finish the job. Far from changing Kyle, one gets the sense that the incident taught him that "it can't get worse" in terms of his potential targets.
From that point, the combat sequences (Kyle served four tours totaling almost 1000 days) involve mostly a manhunt for “The Butcher,” a brutal child-killer and an Iraqi sniper, Kyle’s al-Qaeda counterpart”, who shoots one of Kyle's friends. (Note to soldiers out there: no matter what, never tell anyone you're going to get married when you get home. It seems to be the mark of death in any military movie). Eventually, with a shot of over a mile (!!), Kyle finishes "The Butcher." The final scene of chaos and carnage, shot during a raging sandstorm (and here Eastwood displayed sheer directing genius), finds Kyle finally saved by his brothers and returned home once and for all.
Eastwood's style can best be described by exaggerated understatement. He employs a paucity of music. Indeed, most scenes have no music at all, save the final credits. You MUST stay through the initial part of the credits, for in the last scene you will certainly feel the tears well up. But even then, Eastwood neither wants people bawling like babies or singing the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Rather, he wants an honest, thoughtful reflection on what combat does to men, regardless of the necessity for war. "American Sniper" is neither a cheerleader for our wars, nor their critic. If there is a message, it is: "Wars are bad. Make sure you win, and make them as short as possible."
Not for kids, the squeamish, or progressive/communists.
Oh, and PPS: The 2:10 showing in Dayton South was in the largest theater, perhaps 200 people of the 300 seats. When the show was finished, there wasn't a sound. People quietly, almost respectfully, stood, gathered their things, and walked out, with almost no one talking.
It is probably a good thing that he used a baby doll for the scene.
However, the lefties are incensed.
Yet, 100% of movies coming out of Hollywood these days use CGI.
Hypocrites.
..whenever the left starts acting like disturbed goats, it's worth looking into...
...and you'd better be nice to me
They would have found a reason to object, no matter what he did.
Making Liberal Heads Explode. ...Anti-American, Anti-Military Most Affected.
Oh, OF COURSE.
That’s a given.
HAHAHA!
You are so right about that.
Let’s see, run a million dollars over budget waiting to find new baby actors that aren’t sick or use a prop.
BFD, let the Libtards get their panties in a bunch...just shows how shallow they are and too stupid to see the big picture.
the real reason the progressives are so mad about the plastic kid is that no one got paid union wages hence no union dues.
Man, Talking Tina STILL freaks me out.....thanks alot.
According to American Sniper screenwriter/executive producer Jason Hall, there’s actually a good explanation as to why fake babies were used on the film. In response to journalist Mark Harris’ tweet “That plastic baby in American Sniper is going to be rationalized by Eastwood auteur cultists until the end of days,” Hall replied: “hate to ruin the fun but real baby #1 showed up with a fever. Real baby #2 was no show. (Clint voice) Gimme the doll, kid.”
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/american-snipers-fake-baby-mocked-764702
The same liberals who decry Eastwood’s use of a doll instead of a live baby in the scene are the same ones who would not hesitate to kill a live baby in the womb.
Hypocrites.
If lefties hate it it must be good. I’ll go see it.
Yeah, the story I heard was #2, that they had two babies ready to film, and one was sick and one didn’t show up.
Minor correction: If I remember correctly, “The Butcher” is the leader with the drill who kills the child hands-on, and the Iraqi sniper works for and protects The Butcher. Otherwise, spot on - good movie.
Actually, you’re right. I need to correct.
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