From the opening scene to the closing, American Sniper is so present, so real, that I was in the scenes with the actors. I am so used to seeing movies through the lens of a writer — I “see” the script (seriously, I do!), I study camera angles, music choice, and sets. In American Sniper I walked out for the first time in forever realizing I’d seen none of that. I had instead been firmly rooted in a powerful, gutsy movie about life and death decisions, the pain of war, and the ambivalence of the human heart. Although tough and difficult to watch at times, it’s a film (not a movie) I highly recommend.