Film Review - American Sniper

Shoot To Kill

 

Film: American Sniper

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Duration: 2 hrs 12 mins

Rating: * * *

Based on the autobiographical book by Chris Kyle, one of the deadliest sniper in the U.S. military, American Sniper is a patriotic film directed by Clint Eastwood.  Kyle is credit with more than 160 killings during the four times that he toured Iraq while the war on terror was in progress.

Since this is a very personal account, the politics of it may be questionable but once you accept that this is one side of the story, it is a story that is well told.

Born and brought up in Texas Kyle (Bradley Cooper) is as patriotic as they come. With a knack for hitting the target, he enlists in the army after a series of terrorist attacks in Africa. As a SEAL, he meets his to be wife Taya (Sienna Miller) and he is summoned to Iraq right in the middle of his wedding.

His first targets are a woman and a young boy who try to attack a marine convoy and from there, there is no turning back. Sitting on rooftops, his job is to provide the ground soldiers with cover and he does that very well.

There is a fair bit of on field action, which primarily portrays the soldiers in good light and most of the local residents are either double crossing agents or bad guys. Perhaps that is what Kyle came across during his encounters. Much like what we saw in The Hurt Locker, being in the middle of the action almost becomes an obsession. While it celebrates the heroics of a soldier on the duty, it also laments about war and its final outcome. 

Published in The Navhind Times on 18th January 2015

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Film Review - American Hustle

The Con Job

Film: American Hustle

Cast: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper

Directed by: David O Russell

Duration: 2 hrs 28 mins

Rating: * * * 1 / 2

The release of American Hustle coincides with the Oscar nominations that were announced earlier this week and this film directed by David O Russell manage to garner ten nominations including four in the acting department. The film has already won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical.

Winning a lot of accolades can be a double edged sword for a film. It gets publicity but then it also raises expectations.

Director David O Russell has always been making interesting films, from Three Kings to The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook. Inspired by the real life Abscam where several senators were arrested on corruption charges, this time he takes you back to circa 1978. An almost unrecognizable Christian Bale plays Irving Rosenfeld, a talker who is as smooth as they get. He has a well to do dry-cleaning business but ambition and his hustling talents get the better of him when he meets Sydney (Amy Adams) who makes his perfect partner in business. If the wolf on Wall Street made money by selling penny stocks, this hustler promises people a loan and takes a commission in advance which he gets to keep even if the loan never materializes. Sydney pretends to be a Brit with banking connections and uses the alias, Lady Edith Greensley.

Irving meanwhile has a wife (Jennifer Lawrence) who is bored at home and she also has a son, whom Irving treats as his own. The FBI led by Richie (Bradley Cooper) clamps down on his business and arrests him and Sydney but they also make an offer to help them nab other offenders. After careful consideration and with no other choice, they decide to join hands with the Feds.

With their conning skills, they are expected to help the officials catch some big fish and when the net is cast, the catch is indeed a big one. But not before a few complex situations arise for Irving on the personal and professional front.

While the pacing of the film is leisurely, it is with the characters that Russell keeps you involved in the proceedings. You sympathize with all of them especially Irving who wants to eat his cake and have it too. Robert De Niro plays a cameo and a terrific one as the big boss of the mob.  Jeremy Renner plays the mayor of the town who gets caught in the cross fire. 

The soundtrack is effective using retro songs from Donna Summer (I feel love), Elton John (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road) to Duke Ellington and Paul McCartney (Live and let die).

The cast has given a remarkable performance. The ladies Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence are among the most sought after actresses in Hollywood and for a good reason. Bale adds yet another feather to his hat, from the lean and mean brother in The Fighter to this paunchy character, the physical transformation and the portrayal is amazing.

American Hustle may not a classic as the awards and nominations suggest but it is still an entertaining enterprise.

(Published in The Navhind Times on 19th Jan 2014)

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