• It is a far cry from Eastwood’s magnificent run in the early to mid-2000’s (he hasn’t had a Highly Recommend top-10 of the year level film or better since 2006) but it is an engaging narrative with a terrific lead performance from Paul Walter Hauser who came on the scene in I, Tonya and BlackKklansman in recent years

a terrific lead performance from Paul Walter Hauser who came on the scene in I, Tonya and BlackKklansman in recent years

  • Eastwood’s use of muted greens, blues in the decor— paired with the shadows and darkness is there– again— it isn’t on the level of 2008’s Changeling (and underrated film) let alone Million Dollar Baby but it is there- clearly the same auteur 

this shot is a stunner- Eastwood’s use of muted greens, blues in the decor— paired with the shadows and darkness is there– again— it isn’t on the level of 2008’s Changeling (and underrated film) let alone Million Dollar Baby, but it is there- clearly the same auteur

  • Another film in the unofficial hero series of films made by Eastwood- American Sniper (2014), Sully (2016)–  all feature strong lead performances and flaws.
  • There are just good and bad guys in Eastwood’s world—Hauser is naïve and a bit of a boob and momma’s boy (hard not to think of Water Boy a little with Kathy Bates as the Momma) but he’s a good guy and this is a black and white world. Olivia Wilde’s villain is painted (broadly) as cross between Cruella de Vil and the bad guy from Dirty Harry– Scorpio. There’s not a lot of complexity in nuance and if Eastwood is going to keep it simple- that’s fine—but it gets a little repetitive since he’s not really going to explore the complexities.
  • And there’s a lot of critics chiming in against the film that isn’t about the filmmaking, style or narrative (I have some issues there I’ll get to next) and this is nothing new for Clint. They disagree with Clint’s politics and I don’t get it into that. Again- nothing new for Eastwood– Pauline Kael called Dirty Harry a fascist film in 1971
  • My problem- since I just stick to the actual film- is Wilde’s character crying during Kathy Bates’ press conference. It rings hollow and that scene wasn’t earned at any point in the film prior to that.
  • Overall still a “recommend” film and in the archives but closer to the 30th or so than the top 10