American Sniper, Testament of Youth and Whiplash

I found American Sniper to be quite a troubling film. The glorification of army sniper Chris Kyle may be typical of conservative America, but I couldn't enjoy it. There was so much that was embarrasing, particularly the script and what came out of Kyle's mouth. It seemed as if director Clint Eastwood became bemused by his subject, an expert with a rifle and comfortable on tour, but a pretty pathetic character at home. The Iraq war and the effects on home life were done so much better in The Hurt Locker. How Bradley Cooper has been nominated for an Oscar I will never know. Sienna Miller was better as his wife, but made her character too nice to have married such an oaf. The action sequences were done well, but Kyle's post Iraq experiences were glossed over. In the end I thought a better story would have been about the enemy sniper skipping across the rooftops.

The memoir of Vera Brittain has been turned into a solid and attractive movie in Testament of Youth. It is only because it is a true story that you believe all the tragedy, this would have been quite ridiculous as fiction. The screenplay by Juliette Towhidi is excellent, and director James Kent has made a terrific transition from TV. The cinematography, costume and sets are equally magnificent. The scenes at Charing Cross Station (actually Keighley station plus some CGI) are wonderful. Typically the British cast are all good with a stand out performance from Swedish lead Alicia Vikander. I only heard one slip from her classy English accent. This is an emotional film, perhaps a bit too serious. We could have done with the odd lighter moment.

After all the recent films based on the lives of Turner, Turing, Hawking, Kyle and Brittain, it was good to see an original story. How the brilliant screenplay by young writer/director Damien Chazelle is only up for the best adapted screenplay Oscar, only the Academy knows. The rule about adapting his script from his earlier short is just crazy. This is as original as it gets.

There will be blood. JK Simmons deserves the same Oscar as Daniel Day Lewis for his portrayal as jazz music teacher Terence Fletcher, and that is for actor in a leading role. Yes, he outdoes Cumberbatch and Redmayne. But strangely (again) he is up for best supporting actor for which the others in this category can stay at home. His performance as the vicious, foul mouthed, angry, puffed up, domineering, manipulative, vitriolic but ultimately misguided Fletcher is a tour de force. Think the staff sergeant in Full Metal Jacket. How does he get away with it?

But it's not his blood that is spilt, it's that of nineteen year old, over ambitious, cross and pathetic student drummer Andrew Neiman, played adequately by Miles Teller. The story becomes a game or a one sided battle between the two as it twists and turns. When it goes into the most fantastic overtime, there is only one winner. The last fifteen minutes is the best of any movie I can remember. This is film at it's best, a theatrical experience but one that only works on the big screen. If there is one criticism, it could have done with a bit of the emotion from the previous film. It was all a bit loud, but that's what you get with drum kit.