American Sniper - A surprisingly balanced view

So, an American film about macho gun-ness directed by Clint Eastwood.  When the Hollywood darling of the US Republican party directs a film called American Sniper that chronicles the exploits of the US army's most killingest sniper in the Iraq war, you can be sure that guns are going to be on the agenda.

Eastwood - though resolutely Republican - is fiercely in favour of gun controls.  Though of course in the US being in favour of gun controls generally means just banning M16's and allowing anyone to carry a pistol so long as they fill in a form - but whatever.  At least it means we're likely to get a balanced view of the matter from a US viewpoint, and that's pretty much what American Sniper delivers.  Bradley Cooper leads the movie as Chris Kyle, a US army sniper who is shown growing up in Texas learning from his father that might is right and that guns are part and parcel of life.  He goes off to join the army soon after the destruction of the World Trade Centre and before long is a sniper operating on the rooftops of nameless towns in Iraq.  Kyle dispatches nameless Iraqi fighters, while grappling with his conscious over what to do in situations that don't meet his expectations of what to find in a war-zone.

Overall, American Sniper is remarkable even-handed.  It manages to neither pass judgement on the Iraq war or US foreign policy, nor on the individuals involved.  Instead it presents a neutral view of events from the point of view of someone who is clearly a gun-enthusiast, but who understands the power he wields.  As is typical with many war films, there is very little focus on the 'other side'.  There is little difference here, and the presence of a single Iraqi sniper with whom Kyle can duel to the end of the film does little to redress that.  But then this is an American film, and Eastwood does have form the other way (he directed Letters from Iwo Jima), so I think it can be forgiven.

I think it would be easy to go into watching a film like this expecting an agenda from it, and believing that agenda to be confirmed.  I think that indicates a good balance to it.  It's a film that's very well-constructed, edited to maintain a good right pace in the battle sequences and heart-felt where it needs to be.  The montage that plays out with the closing credits could be seen as being pro-gun, but in reality it simply showcases a very American subculture without disdain or veneer.  However the outside world might feel the need to judge the American pro-gun lobby we cannot deny that the movement is strong and deeply-rooted.  American Sniper comes with a recommendation from me.