Directed by Edward Dmytryk, who also gave us one of my favorite films The Caine Mutiny, and written by Harry Brown, The Sniper is focused on Edward Miller a troubled young man recently released from prison. Miller struggles against a deep-seated hatred of women and after a couple of attempts to get help fail and he is romantically rejected Miller loses control and begins a murderous 
spree as a sniper killing dark haired women. The police led by Lieutenant Frank Kafka and his partner Joe Ferris are nearly helpless to catch Miller. Stuck in a mindset that looks for motive their focus on peeping toms and men with a history of sexual assault their investigation gets nowhere until the department’s psychologist Dr. Kent, redirects their attention by use of what would eventually become psychological profiling. In a final inversion of classic film tropes, the ending doesn’t rely upon exciting gunplay but instead leaves the viewer with a haunting image of a man in pain.
When we decided to watch The Sniper with its subject matter of random murder we expected a film that leaned heavily towards the exploitive but instead we were treated to a thoughtful, though occasionally didactic, and serious treatment of the problems American society has, then and now, in dealing with psychological trauma and the use of a prison system in lieu of hospitals. Aside from one scene where the plot is brought to a full stop to allow for speechmaking by the filmmakers The Sniper does an excellent job of presenting its themes within the context of a compelling narrative. This one is well worth seeking out and watching.
