Post by Hook on Dec 28, 2008 21:57:11 GMT -8
This movie's fucking amazing. You'll have to excuse liberal use of expletives, but there's no better way to describe this film. I'll do some bullet points because I sometimes get tired of writing coherent paragraphs.
Anyway, to keep it short: Eastwood kicks ass and you should all see this film. Also, I kinda lied about the "filmgoing experience". Yes, I torrented one of those screeners that'll get an insider in trouble, but no worries. This is a must in my video collection.
- I want to be Clint Eastwood. Period. This is a man that commands such authority, such appeal, that it's impossible to escape his allure. You know how people say "When 'so-and-so' opens his mouth, everyone listens"? With Eastwood, when the man grimaces, everyone is on the edge of their seat, paying attention.
- The film's story is no better than your average Hallmark Channel, Lifetime movie: old, sheltered man befriends the least likely people you'd imagine and teaches them all valuable lessons. But that's not to say it's just like those. Oh, no. This movie has Eastwood written all over it. From shot composition to AAA performances, this is a great filmgoing experience which I won't care to define in any particular genre. It just is, and you're glad you're watching.
- I love critics' description of Walt: "Dirty Harry works at Ford factory. The autoworker retires, but Dirty Harry's still on the job." But it would be a mistake and it would take a simple-minded point of view to believe Walt behaves the way he does because of his age and because his life is drawing to a close. Some of it is, like his habit of calling people gooks, spooks, tongue-twisting simple Asian names, and assuming the worst of ethnic people as if he still were in Korea fighting a war. But let's not kid ourselves. Walt's Walt. This is Walt in the 21st century, as I bet he was in the 90s, the 80s, the 70s and so on to his early 20s. What's worse (or good), I share a lot of Walt's worldview, and I can't help but chuckle along with his daily annoyances.
- It helps, of course, that I really enjoyed the performances, specially that of the neighborhood girl that introduces Walt to "the gooks".
- And one last aspect, and why I thoroughly enjoyed the film, is that it begins with a mystery: who is Walt? Does he love? Does his past haunt him? Is he just anger? And these questions are answered, alright, but respecting the complexity of the character. There's no fluffy ending tagged along with a moral such as "People can change! There's good in old curmudgeons and in all of us, too! lulz!". Nope, the answer is, and always will be: Eastwood's Walt is the man. A man's man. That's who he is.
Anyway, to keep it short: Eastwood kicks ass and you should all see this film. Also, I kinda lied about the "filmgoing experience". Yes, I torrented one of those screeners that'll get an insider in trouble, but no worries. This is a must in my video collection.