American Sniper.
I have a lot of thoughts on this movie because I read Chris Kyle's autobiography. While the Chris Kyle in the movie was not a true representation of the man according to his autobiography, I thought the changes they made were supremely entertaining.
The movie is called an autobiographical drama, but I would call it a really intense, stern, drawn out action drama movie...sort of, if that makes sense. It was a very, very serious film with a dearth of a soundtrack, and the dialogue almost feels secondary to character expressions. All of my favorite scenes in the movie were when Chris Kyle, who is one of the few veterans who is eager and willing to return to combat on consecutive tours, with absolutely no hesitation at all, encounters former squad mates at home back in the States. I do not want to spoil too much, but the most notable of these scenes is when Kyle, moments after landing in Iraq for his third tour of combat, encounters a former squad mate from his first tour of duty, departing for the United States. Immediately, Kyle notices that the man is no longer the energetic soldier he once knew. The short meeting between the two ends with the soldier walking away from Kyle to board a plane, and with his back half-turned towards Kyle he says, "I just want to get out of here." Kyle stands reeling, unable to comprehend what has happened to the combat-hungry soldier he once knew.
I have more thoughts on this movie, but I thought this was enough. I loved this movie, and I'm still thinking about all the conclusions one can draw from it.
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