Eastwood chooses to show us
Kyle’s kills as the sniper himself
viewed them - through his rifle
scope. It has a strange, contradictory effect of both placing us
in Kyle’s position and simultaneously distancing us from the act
of violence. There is one kill that
crucially isn’t presented in this
way, as Kyle himself moves his
eye away from the scope after
the form of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, but there’s no final confrontation, instead the focus is on
one of his foot soldiers, a Syrian
sniper who carries an Olympic
medal for marksmanship. Eastwood presents us with some
despicable acts, played out in
brutal fashion, but the audience
is never given the vengeance it
desires.
firing. It’s a killing that Kyle has
a personal investment in, and
so wants to witness it without
the protection of the glass of a
scope.
American Sniper is a frustrating
watch, as it should be, reflective
as it is of a highly frustrating situation. The movie has a villain in
Despite having a wife and kids
back home, Kyle is most comfortable when in Iraq, and so
is the film itself. The Stateside
scenes are a collection of relationship clichés, with Miller’s put
upon spouse espousing hackneyed lines like “When you’re
here, you’re not really here.” The
“American Sniper is a frustrating watch,
as it should be, reflective as it is of a highly
frustrating situation”
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pg 55