Eastwoods's best movie in years. Clint is a grumpy, racist widower living next door to an Asian family.The slow-burn drama chart Walt's progress from prejudiced loner to trusting father-figure to Tao, his young neighbour.
The slow build up pays of as the end approaches as the movie transforms into something grander and more mythic. It could almost be staged as a Western, with Clint playing an aging gunslinger who may get pulled back into violence once more. Powerful themes of family, guilt, redemption and values are handled with Eastwood's usual subtlety.
The great man himself delivers a quite introspective performance that typically overshadows everybody else. It's a testament to his stat power and talennt, the he can still kick thesp-arse in his later years. I wonder though whether Clint put on the raspy voice for Walt; when I first heard it in the trailer, I thought he was doing an impersonation of himself (although, in context, it works for the story).
Simple, elegant storytelling.
1 comment:
I thought this film was amazing. Really funny in places and very dark in others. You should check out 'Red' with Brian 'thelegend' Cox, it's kind of similar, but not funny. Maybe it was the typical holywood studio 'partner' film.
Interesting on the acting quote as I read that many of others had not acted before.
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