Jane Heller

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

  • About
    • Bio
    • FAQ
  • Publications
    • Books
      • Romantic Comedies
      • Caregiving
      • Baseball
      • TV Tie-In
    • Articles
  • Blogs
    • Mainly Jane
    • Confessions of a She-Fan
  • Media
    • Videos
    • Audio
    • Press
    • Press Materials/Three Blonde Mice
  • Speaking
  • Contact

Movie Day: "American Sniper"

December 7, 2014

American Sniper poster

I wasn’t looking forward to two war movies back to back after yesterday’s “Unbroken,” but “American Sniper” is a winner. A serious winner. At 84, Clint Eastwood has directed one of his best films yet and Bradley Cooper, not one of my favorite actors, delivers a performance worthy of an Oscar nom.

A bulked up Cooper (he gained 40 pounds for the role) stars as U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history with over 160 “kills” on his wartime resume during four harrowing tours of duty in Iraq. A Texan who was raised to protect his own, no matter what the odds, Kyle’s pinpoint accuracy as a shooter saves countless lives on the battlefield and, as stories of his courageous exploits spread, he earns the nickname “Legend.” His reputation is a double-edged sword though as he becomes a target of the insurgents. Back at home, his wife Taya (a dark-haired Sienna Miller) notices how reluctant he is to talk about his experiences and is confused by his behavior. “Even when you’re here, you’re not here,” she says. It isn’t until late in the story that Kyle gets his equilibrium back from helping disabled veterans – only to suffer a tragic fate himself (a tragedy that Eastwood wisely chose not to reenact on screen).

Eastwood’s battle scenes are intense and expertly shot, and I got the sense as I did with “The Hurt Locker” that I was really seeing what combat is like for these soldiers. I would like to have had a better sense of his marriage and Miller doesn’t have much to work with in her role as the wife, but I appreciated that this was a story about war, not love. I also appreciated that Eastwood kept politics off the screen; there’s no moralizing for any particular position but rather a quiet portrayal of patriotism as well as the complexities of war. Highly recommended.

 

Filed Under: Mainly Jane, Movies Tagged With: American Sniper, Bradley Cooper, Cinema Society, Clint Eastwood, Jason Hall, Santa Barbara, Sienna Miller

Search

Archives

Food and recipes

  • Epicurious
  • Food Network
  • Seriously Simple

Hollywood

  • Company Town
  • Deadline Hollywood
  • The Bold and the Beautiful
  • The Envelope
  • The Film Geek Confidential
  • The Vulture Pages
  • The Wrap

My California Writing Buddies

  • Ciji Ware
  • Deborah Hutchison
  • Gayle Lynds
  • Jenna McCarthy
  • Laurie Burrows Grad
  • Margo Candela
  • Melodie Johnson Howe
  • Starshine Roshell

My New Connecticut Writing Buddies

  • Lauren Lipton
  • Marie Bostwick

News, politics, pop culture

  • The Daily Beast
  • The Huffington Post

Writing and publishing

  • eBookNewser
  • GalleyCat
  • Gawker
  • Publishers Lunch
  • Publishers Weekly

Follow Me!

  • Jane Heller on Goodreads
  • Jane Heller on Pinterest
  • Jane Heller on Facebook
  • Jane Heller on Twitter

Get in touch!

I’d love to hear from you! Contact me!

About Jane Heller

Jane Heller is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her fourteen breezy, witty novels of romantic comedy and suspense are now entertaining millions of readers around the world, along with her two books of nonfiction.

Copyright © 2021 Jane Heller