Chalk up another one in the cornucopia of work known as Clint Eastwood. Undeniably one of the greatest filmmakers to ever grace cinema, this one is more of a miss than a hit but still a sweet little film with a lot of his classic vibe and trademarks. The tale is a simple drama - Clint owes his boss a favor so he agrees to schlep down to Mexico and bring his thirteen year old son back home for him, rescuing him from a grimy lifestyle with mom. A road trip coming of age thing follows.
Some criticism - the kid is an important role here, I didn't like the casting choice, not edgy enough for the character. And Clint, we love ya but it's time to start using other actors, in The Mule it was a perfect match for the age and character but here he looks like he's still trying to star in his own movies. With another lead and perhaps a few more action scenes, this could have been a hit instead of miss.
The movie's surprise big plus is Dwight Yoakum. Looking a little old himself, yes, but his acting chops have come a long way since the Slingblade days. Unfortunately, he's only in a couple scenes, in fact the rooster the movie is named after has more scenes than him. All in all though, very pleased to add this one to my collection, filed of course under the one and only Clint Eastwood. 2.75 stars/5
No comments:
Post a Comment