Review of the film "American Sniper"

Review of “American Sniper”[i]

I saw some comments criticizing the film because it might not represent the true Chris Kyle, that there may be a darker side to Chris. Another criticism was that the film might inspire anti-Islamic violence. Having viewed the film, I believe it is easy to dismiss  both negative remarks.

Clint Eastwood masterfully blends several stories that are real – that are very human and sensitively portrayed. 

In a brief vignette of Chris’ early family experience, Chris discovers something about himself. On a hunting trip with his dad, he discovers that he has the eye of a marksman. His father shares with him a philosophy of life that will later take hold and guide Chris in his own life. His father shares with him that people in life can be viewed from three perspectives. The first type are wolves, those who kill sheep,  Wolves harm others and do evil things. The second type is the sheep whom he defines as defenseless entities. Sheep don’t think there is evil in the world… they can’t imagine that there are wolves who might look at them as a suitable dinner. The last category is the sheep dogs. The sheep dog’s role is to protect the good sheep and aggressively create a boundary for the wolf. 

Chris experiences a failed relationship and tries out working as a cowboy for a while, basically moving through life without purpose or mission.  Seeing the attack on the American embassies in Africa on TV, begins to help Chris reconnect with his talents and with his mission. Despite the obstacles in his way, such as beginning to train to become a Navy SEAL at a later age than most,  he perseveres and eventually becomes a SEAL sniper. His mission as a protector of his fellow soldiers began. Passionate and focused, he was not afraid to put himself in the line of fire. He volunteered to lead the dangerous house-to-house search for The Butcher.  When he chose to shoot Mustafa, he knew that he would be giving away his location, thereby risking  being overrun by the enemy.

Some feel timing in a person’s life is everything but perhaps not.   

Perhaps Horace, a Roman Poet had it right.

    Scale back your long hope to a short period.

 While we speak, time is envious and

is running away from us.

Seize the day, trusting little in the future.

Chris finds himself falling in love and marrying just as he finds his calling as a SEAL. The two paths require not only very different skill sets, but an “all-in” commitment and effort.  Chris attempts to commit to both, but the difficulty of balancing the two presented an enormous struggle. The Spirit of Chris and of Taya is strong and they are able to work through the potential asymmetry, the lack of proper time synchronization.

Clint Eastwood masterfully weaves the stories of both lifestyles throughout Chris’ experiences. Chris was a dedicated warrior who cannot abandon his mission, helping  and protecting his fellow warriors. At the same time, Chris is committed to his wife, working at making his marriage work and at being a good father. The strength of his spirit enables him to allow both paths in his life to unfold as he choses to work with the talents and abilities that are a part of him. Chris becomes the loving and protective sheep dog that his father spoke about.

Taya, the woman, Chris marries becomes another significant story within the story. She has her doubts about committing to someone who is about to be deployed.  Taya was concerned that Chris might be just like the Seal who cheated on her friend. Nonetheless, Taya took a risk and opened herself to him. Chris also committed himself to Taya. So much for timing that didn’t seem to mesh. Clint Eastwood beautifully portrays Taya’s struggles, dealing with his absence, his pain, facing her pregnancy alone. Perhaps her greatest struggle is with Chris’ choice to risk his life again and again over in multiple deployments. As only a woman can, she smoothly got him to see a doctor to help him deal with his  psychological battle scars and to channel his energies to helping other returning vets deal with their traumas in a positive way. 

The other significant story is that of Mustafa, the Al-Qaeda marksman and his associate the Butcher. This is a sub-story, nonetheless a powerful piece of Chris’ journey. Mustafa is a man whose talent is like Chris’s: that of a warrior, of a marksman. Their perspectives are different, their causes radically different. The mind and actions of Mustafa and the Butcher reflect their estrangement from Allah, from love and light, and from their fellow man. They use their talents to control others, deify their own egos and that of their leaders. They seek to dominate through force and fear. They are willing to sacrifice a mother and her children for their cause. They are willing to torture children to death. [The mindset of Mustafa and the Butcher are in sharp contrast to the patience and care that Chris and the American military used to not shoot innocent civilians and to target only the enemy combatants.

None of my Moslem friends would support the actions of Mustafa and the Butcher. They know that the message of Allah does not endorse violence, fear and torture, that force and fear are the biggest obstacles to one’s true mission. Moslems, Jews, Christians and members of other religions know that if they go to their core beliefs, they will find that the essence of spirituality is caring for themselves and their fellow man.

The paradox is that war gives rise to two distinct behaviors in man: the egomaniacal pursuit of violence and depravity, and the self-sacrificing dedication of oneself to the care and protection of others.

Although American Sniper is a movie that deals with difficult themes and a controversial hero, I strongly recommend it. It is well done. I believe that it can teach us something positive about life. It is really important to Breath in a quiet place and listen to one’s inner voices … one voice being ones own and the second voice is that of Source Energy, that which we call God / Allah / Buddha or many other names. The Breathing and the voices will never lead us to do something that will harm ourselves or another. The Voices will help us to be more loving and creative rather than destructive.

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[i] Eastwood, C. (2015). American Sniper, Warner Brothers, Golden Village pictures, Roadshow Films and others: 132 min.

ⁱⁱ Odes, Horace, 65 BCE  http://www.poets.org/text/carpe-diem-poems-making-most-time