Probably the only person who has kept quiet about American Sniper at this point is the man who directed it. Clint Eastwood hasn’t really addressed the controversy that’s been swirling and didn’t take the Producer’s Guild Awards breakfast to make that change. Instead, he brought up the anti-war message he claims is being carried by the film. From Variety:
Eastwood said he and Cooper met with the family of Chris Kyle, the Navy SEAL portrayed by Cooper, in order to be able to depict the war’s impact on the home front — which the director also did in his 2007 WWII film “Letters From Iwo Jima.”
“The biggest antiwar statement is what it does to the families left behind,” Eastwood said.
Eastwood is no stranger to making recreating war on film and showing the effect it has on the home front. Flags of Our Fathers And Letters From Iwo Jima captured the World War II experience and Eastwood brought that up during the event:
The producer/director said that after WWII the troops were expected to “just go home and get over it” but now there is help for the returning vets. “We’re straightening all that out now,” (via)
Now I have my opinions on how anti-war American Sniper is after seeing it, but most of the controversy surrounding it seems to stem from the source material and things away from the screen. The movie itself shows elements of this struggle at home and has the intentions in the right place, but it doesn’t really have the follow-through. I’m not sure what you think, though, so please discuss.
As for the Chris Kyle controversy, I don’t really want to hear what Eastwood has to think. Will he say something that isn’t expected? I’d rather hear what he thinks about people claiming that showing black and white/ good and evil on screen is an “Eastwood” thing to do. It’s just funny how the guy who helped usher in a movement away from black and white hatted cowboys is being penned in as a guy who is known for that trope.
