(Historical Post - June 2015)
Something happened in the cinema when I watched this, that has never actually happened to me before, while I was watching the real footage of Chris Kyle's funeral procession, I felt short of breath, actually slightly starved of oxygen.
Obviously I had tears in my eyes but I wasn't experiencing the usual snot and hiccups I get when a film gets to me, this was a real physical reaction to a total strangers story.
Yes I am dramatic, but this truly shows why Clint Eastwood and indeed Bradley Cooper were nominated for Oscars.
It’s taken me ages to get past the first few sentences in this post - I have no idea why - so it’s been well over a month since I actually watched the film and I never made any notes, this combination may mean this post is a bit crap but I'm going to go ahead and force my opinions on everyone as usual!
First I'd like to get out of the way the whole fake baby thing - yes it was absolutely horrendous, but that's such a tiny fraction of this films message that it just doesn't matter. Still funny though.
When it comes to the supporting cast, the bottom line here is, Sienna Miller is not a very good actress and I wish that anyone else would have been given this role. Where did she come from anyway?? Last time I saw her was in her underwear in Layer Cake or being a spoiled brat in Stardust! Now all of a sudden, she's in two Academy Award nominated films?! I don't get it.......
This brings me to Luke Grimes - what an absolute beaut! He's another one that I have no idea where he appeared from, but his performance was solid and calm, which is refreshing in a war movie - especially whilst portraying a US marine. He played a loveable character and I was genuinely upset when he died. To my delight he also appeared as Elliot Grey in Fifty Shades of Terrible Acting, which was nice.
I have one complaint to make about the casting and that is to the casting director - how dare you make Kyle Gallner into a gutless, vacuous and ultimately pointless character??? I LOVE him in The Haunting in Connecticut and Nightmare on Elm Street, so I'm used to him being the hero of the story, not the lazy scaredy cat marine they made him into and what's even more annoying, is his character just wasn't necessary in my opinion - someone else obviously thought that as well because he was there one minute and gone the next, without much of an explanation.
Now for Bradley Cooper;
I tend to turn my nose up every time Bradley Cooper is nominated for an Oscar and this time was no different, but I am starting to realise why he gets these nominations, he seems to have mastered the art of subtlety, he has managed to get himself 3 Oscar nominations in as many years by playing, what on the surface appear to be, pretty simple characters, an FBI agent, a slightly quirky recovered mental patient and now a Navy SEAL.
However if you watch these performances again and again you start to realise what a captivating, natural actor he is, his dialogue delivery is always so flowing and streamlined, his accents perfect and his body language on point - American Sniper is no exception, portarying a real life person, who seemingly had no conscience, who was seen as actually very robotic and devoid of personality and emotion and doing it so convincingly well, is definitely something to be applauded.
He really beefed up for this role, he looked like someone you wouldn't mess with, he's 6ft 1 anyway, but he looked like a mountain in this - I don't know if people of a smaller stature were cast on purpose to make him look huge, but the man is a total bear in this film!! He also spoke with a much deeper voice and a slightly dulled down southern accent, which he maintained throughout perfectly and he's another one that seemed to have developed an under bite?? Might be just me.........
Like all Gulf War films before it, the whole movie had a sepia tone about it, but that doesn't mean it made any less of an impact, the sandstorm scenes were beautifully shot, all golden and mysterious, absolutely gorgeous to watch.
People don't harp on enough about Clint Eastwood as a director in my opinion, he has made some absolute corkers over the years but people seem to forget past Million Dollar Baby which is a shame.
He did a wonderful job of making this film and I wish he'd won the awards he was nominated for, but then I haven't seen Birdman yet, so I'll probably say the same thing about whats-his-face who directed that. I have no loyalty when it comes to a good film!
Script, Make-up, costume, score etc. all not terrible, but again, like I have said before, when you are mesmerised by one person you can’t really form an opinion and to be honest - no opinion is better than a bad one! If any of it was terrible I would be tearing it to shreds right now.
The one thing that really stood out for me was the gunfire, particularly the sniper rifle, it stood out from the usual Marine's M16 rifle fire we're all so familiar with, it came in these deep, isolated, booming blasts that you felt from your toes to your head, like a bassline, every time he fired. The sound editors may possibly have made a point of this, I'll never know I suppose, but it really struck me.
The story is truly heartbreaking and you will feel exhausted by the end of it, but it is totally worth sitting through, there is everything you need in a film; action, romance, laughs (only a few), heartbreak, bromance :-) it's absolutely worth 2 hours of your life.
I wish I'd written this the day after I watched it, not a couple of months later, because I know I was feeling and thinking a lot more - especially about the morality of the decisions a sniper must be faced with and the effect of war on returning soldiers and it seems very disjointed to me.
Although, I'm sure I'll watch it again and add to it in time.
Something happened in the cinema when I watched this, that has never actually happened to me before, while I was watching the real footage of Chris Kyle's funeral procession, I felt short of breath, actually slightly starved of oxygen.
Obviously I had tears in my eyes but I wasn't experiencing the usual snot and hiccups I get when a film gets to me, this was a real physical reaction to a total strangers story.
Yes I am dramatic, but this truly shows why Clint Eastwood and indeed Bradley Cooper were nominated for Oscars.
It’s taken me ages to get past the first few sentences in this post - I have no idea why - so it’s been well over a month since I actually watched the film and I never made any notes, this combination may mean this post is a bit crap but I'm going to go ahead and force my opinions on everyone as usual!
First I'd like to get out of the way the whole fake baby thing - yes it was absolutely horrendous, but that's such a tiny fraction of this films message that it just doesn't matter. Still funny though.
When it comes to the supporting cast, the bottom line here is, Sienna Miller is not a very good actress and I wish that anyone else would have been given this role. Where did she come from anyway?? Last time I saw her was in her underwear in Layer Cake or being a spoiled brat in Stardust! Now all of a sudden, she's in two Academy Award nominated films?! I don't get it.......
This brings me to Luke Grimes - what an absolute beaut! He's another one that I have no idea where he appeared from, but his performance was solid and calm, which is refreshing in a war movie - especially whilst portraying a US marine. He played a loveable character and I was genuinely upset when he died. To my delight he also appeared as Elliot Grey in Fifty Shades of Terrible Acting, which was nice.
I have one complaint to make about the casting and that is to the casting director - how dare you make Kyle Gallner into a gutless, vacuous and ultimately pointless character??? I LOVE him in The Haunting in Connecticut and Nightmare on Elm Street, so I'm used to him being the hero of the story, not the lazy scaredy cat marine they made him into and what's even more annoying, is his character just wasn't necessary in my opinion - someone else obviously thought that as well because he was there one minute and gone the next, without much of an explanation.
Now for Bradley Cooper;
I tend to turn my nose up every time Bradley Cooper is nominated for an Oscar and this time was no different, but I am starting to realise why he gets these nominations, he seems to have mastered the art of subtlety, he has managed to get himself 3 Oscar nominations in as many years by playing, what on the surface appear to be, pretty simple characters, an FBI agent, a slightly quirky recovered mental patient and now a Navy SEAL.
However if you watch these performances again and again you start to realise what a captivating, natural actor he is, his dialogue delivery is always so flowing and streamlined, his accents perfect and his body language on point - American Sniper is no exception, portarying a real life person, who seemingly had no conscience, who was seen as actually very robotic and devoid of personality and emotion and doing it so convincingly well, is definitely something to be applauded.
He really beefed up for this role, he looked like someone you wouldn't mess with, he's 6ft 1 anyway, but he looked like a mountain in this - I don't know if people of a smaller stature were cast on purpose to make him look huge, but the man is a total bear in this film!! He also spoke with a much deeper voice and a slightly dulled down southern accent, which he maintained throughout perfectly and he's another one that seemed to have developed an under bite?? Might be just me.........
Like all Gulf War films before it, the whole movie had a sepia tone about it, but that doesn't mean it made any less of an impact, the sandstorm scenes were beautifully shot, all golden and mysterious, absolutely gorgeous to watch.
People don't harp on enough about Clint Eastwood as a director in my opinion, he has made some absolute corkers over the years but people seem to forget past Million Dollar Baby which is a shame.
He did a wonderful job of making this film and I wish he'd won the awards he was nominated for, but then I haven't seen Birdman yet, so I'll probably say the same thing about whats-his-face who directed that. I have no loyalty when it comes to a good film!
Script, Make-up, costume, score etc. all not terrible, but again, like I have said before, when you are mesmerised by one person you can’t really form an opinion and to be honest - no opinion is better than a bad one! If any of it was terrible I would be tearing it to shreds right now.
The one thing that really stood out for me was the gunfire, particularly the sniper rifle, it stood out from the usual Marine's M16 rifle fire we're all so familiar with, it came in these deep, isolated, booming blasts that you felt from your toes to your head, like a bassline, every time he fired. The sound editors may possibly have made a point of this, I'll never know I suppose, but it really struck me.
The story is truly heartbreaking and you will feel exhausted by the end of it, but it is totally worth sitting through, there is everything you need in a film; action, romance, laughs (only a few), heartbreak, bromance :-) it's absolutely worth 2 hours of your life.
I wish I'd written this the day after I watched it, not a couple of months later, because I know I was feeling and thinking a lot more - especially about the morality of the decisions a sniper must be faced with and the effect of war on returning soldiers and it seems very disjointed to me.
Although, I'm sure I'll watch it again and add to it in time.