'American Sniper:' 1st R-Rated Movie in 16 Years to Top Yearly Box Office

Clint Eastwood's Oscar winning war film American Sniper has grossed $337 million at the domestic box office, officially beating longtime champ Mockingjay Part 1 by 1 million. It is the first R-rated movie to top the yearly box office since 1998's Saving Private Ryan (which grossed about $216 mil in the late 90s). American Sniper has a worldwide total of $500 mil.

Like the high box office gross of 50 Shades of Grey, the box office victory is both a success and a non-success. I have to celebrate anytime an R-rated "for adults only" movie enjoys colossal success at the box office. It could mean more chances being taken on a large range of projects instead of the usual "sequels and remakes." At the same time, I wasn't a huge fan of either American Sniper or 50 Shades (though I tried my hardest to be fair to both). American Sniper's box office success and Oscar glory is not surprising because it can easily be seen as validating a large portion of its audience's beliefs and values.

But does it?

I think American Sniper is a little smarter than people give it credit for. Clint Eastwood's film, based on the autobiography of Chris Kyle, has been subject to the same kind of controversies that other similarly challenging films have faced. It's the old "depiction = condonation?" debate. David Fincher got it twice for The Social Network and Gone Girl when critics thought he was anti-feminist. Kathryn Bigelow lost out on an Oscar nomination because apparently Zero Dark Thirty supports torture interrogation. And both Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio *facepalmed* when people thought Wolf of Wall Street was a big invitation for guys to indulge in hedonism.

American Sniper has been as interpreted as showing the Iraqi invasion as a direct result of 9/11 (thereby justifying the war). Critics of the film accused the film of telling a half-truth at best and a vicious lie at worst. But I think that is missing the point of the film. I have an old question that I ask myself whenever a character says something distasteful or a story goes in a weird direction: does the writer believe in what the character is saying/where the story is going or are they trying to get into that headspace?

By criticizing a film for depicting a controversial worldview without any handholding (like Fincher, Bigelow, Scorsese and now Eastwood have done), aren't we just saying "hey, we're too simplistic to be challenged?" I'm not saying that American Sniper is the best film of the year or even one of Eastwood's best films. But all it is asking for us to do is watch a story about a guy with a very specific point of view and see where that point of view comes from. Eastwood's film does not judge or crucify Chris Kyle but it doesn't anoint him an American hero either. The film shows things as way too black and white--but wasn't it black and white for Chris Kyle? Shouldn't a biopic take on the perspective of its protagonist?

Is it distressing that some people will see their wrongheaded opinions validated by the film's depiction of events? Yes, but that's the risk of risky filmmaking. That's the risk filmmakers take when they choose not to oversaturate their film with signposts of their intentions. And, to be honest, most people watch a political movie with their minds already made up. Even if American Sniper had been a scathingly "in your face" critique of American patriotism, the audience will bring to it their own beliefs and will leave the film with their beliefs intact. That is not Clint Eastwood's problem.

If I had my way, the top grosser of the year would have been Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Gone Girl or, if I'm being blindly hopeful, Nightcrawler. In my honest opinion, those films deserve to gross more than $300 mil at the box office. But I can't be disappointed when a challenging, controversial movie that's rated-R and made for adults outgrosses its franchise competitors. I want Hollywood to take risks and make films that aren't so easily palatable. I want to see films that challenge my thinking, that present different world views and that bring about a discussion. American Sniper may not be my favorite movie of the year or even in my top 10. But it is a film that does not aim to please everybody. And that is respectable.

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