i
OPINION
The Battalion I 1.20.15
'AMERICAN SNIPER: FILM VS. BOOK
The legend that is 'American Sniper'
Cooper delivers intensely emotional performance
Straight from the pages
Book and movie versions have some major differences
w
Jack Riewe
Life and arts writer
hen you enter a movie theater to see a
war movie, especially one that is talked
about as much as “American Sniper”
has been, you expect it to be intense until the
end, realistic as if from the battlezone and, in
a word, awesome. “American Sniper” had all
these qualities as Bradley Cooper transformed
on screen into burly Navy SEAL Chris Kyle.
The biographical drama takes place in early
2000s Iraq, fresh after 9/11, and follows Chris
Kyle’s entrance into the military after he is
inspired by news coverage of the war in the
Middle East.
Bradley Cooper has been on the rise in the
film industry since his performances in the
Hangover trilogy, and has become quite excel
lent at selecting movies where he invests his
time and effort.
In “American Sniper” he isn’t surrounded by
a superstar cast, such as “American Hustle” and
“Silver Linings Playbook.” He proved he can
take a movie and own it without being just a
supporting actor.
Actors like Mark Wahlberg thrive in these
movies, but Cooper shows his versatility, play
ing a character far different from that, in “Limit
less” or “The Words.”
The movie starts with Cooper’s character,
Chris Kyle, taking his first sniper shot on an
insurgent woman before taking the audience
on a flashback into his decision and. process to
become a SEAL — a pretty cliche technique,
especially since it’s directed by Clint Eastwood,
who is a movie veteran and adds his own gray
filter that he likes to use in his movies. Another
platitude is how much the film emphasized
Kyle’s Texas origins through Cooper’s charac
ter. Kyle’s cowboy persona is played up with a
thick accent and bears a stereotypical overdone
southern demeanor. However, after reading a
little about who Kyle actually was, it was justi
fied since he was an actual horse-riding native
T exan.
Throughout the movie Kyle becomes a liv
ing legend, recording an overwhelming number
of kills and protecting his fellow comrades at
any cost. But even though they portray Kyle as
the best sniper in American history, he doesn’t
actually snipe as much as you expect him to.
The film instead shows him clearing buildings
to get more action and creates another plotline.
This steers away from the sniper theme and
brings up questions of what the movie is really
about. Don’t expect a movie solely about a
sniper and his gun.
The character development is well done as
the production team shows the metamorphosis
of a fun-loving cowboy to a war-torn veteran
when Cooper is forced to come back to
domestic life. This creates some of the main
conflict in the movie and puts the audi
ence on edge, sometimes more than when
in a batdezone, because Cooper effectively
depicts a soldier ready to act on his post-
traumatic stress disorder-induced
flashbacks.
“American Sniper” isn’t
only about Kyle’s journey
through his four tours in
Iraq but about the effect
war has on soldiers.
This prompts audience
members to sympa
thize with Kyle and
adds another layer
to the movie.
“American Sniper”
lives up to the hype
and so far looks to
come up big in the
Oscar race, elevat
ing Bradley Cooper
to higher prestige in
the acting world.
Jack Riewe is an Eng
lish junior and a life and
arts writer for
The Battalion.
W
Lindsey Gawllk
@LindseyGawlik
hen I saw the trailer for the
‘American Sniper” movie and
heard there was also a book,
I knew it was one I wanted to read.
True stories are by far the most interest
ing, and this one looked
particularly fascinat
ing: a tale about an
American, Texas-
born hero. So I went
straight to my Kindle
and downloaded it.
The book starts
slowly and Chris
Kyle doesn’t
seem a
natural-
-oH *i
U1H:
born writer, which shows in the book.
However the book picks up pace as it
hones in on him finding purpose in life
once he drops out of college to become
a Navy SEAL.
Some major differences in the book
versus the film is that Kyle hardly, if
ever, talks about his post-traumatic stress
disorder or his fear in the book. All
emotional areas, even scenes that de
scribe his PTSD, are usually told through
italicized paragraphs his wife wrote.
Another big difference is Kyle wasn’t
originally trained to be only a sniper. He
mentions in the book he becomes a full
time sniper in the field on his first tour
once his commanding officer saw how
skilled he was.
At times in the book, Kyle seems to
be almost hateful toward all Muslims, a
characteristic obviously resulting from
his time at war. This was a little un
comfortable to me for that reason, and I
sometimes found myself getting confused
that he condemned all Muslims, going as
far as calling them “savages.”
Kyle is undeniably a die-hard Ameri
can patriot, and his PTSD is played up a
lot in die movie compared to the book.
Kyle always says in the book how
excited he was to go on another tour,
another tour, another tour. He wanted
to be in the field because he felt —-
perhaps rightfully so, with his kill
record — he could protect his country
men better than anyone else.
Although the book is sporadic and
unorganized at times, it is captivating for
its action-packed scenes. I did find my
self occasionally having to look up the
definition of certain military terms, but
overall the book is a fascinating window
into the mind, pride and purpose of an
American Navy SEAL.
I’d only say I liked it and not loved it,
because although it was enjoyable it was
just a little too unorganized for my taste.
Lindsey Gawlik is a
telecommunication and media studies
junior and news editor
for The Battalion.
' V
RECSPORTS
EE
In Recreation I Intramural Sports I Group RecXercise
Sport Clubs I BootCamp I Bikini FitCamp
Aquatics I Outdoor Adventures I Indoor Climbing
Specialty Classes I Personal Training I CPR Classes
Banquet Services I Massage Therapy
All available to YOU at one of the BEST Student Recreation Centers
in the nation!
YOUR Student Recreation Center is currently undergoing a
$54 MILLION EXPANSION & RENOVATION so that we can
accommodate the needs of the growing Texas A&M student body!
The best part is that the project is being funded without raising the
Rec Sports fee!
To find out about the improvements that will be made and for updates
on the project, please visit www.recsports4u.com.
THE REC CENTER IS OPEN DURING CONSTRUCTION!
Visit recsports.tamu.edu for facility hours!
k ;
II
^ ' g s N ^ ' x ' \ " £$•
■ , 1 ■
% *** ^ I ' : W ^
..." ^ =*■
^ V 4 >
...
RECREATIONAL SPORTS
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS
©RecSports
Texas A&M Rec Sports
recsports.tamu.edu