0
Clint does not talk to a chair.
I saw this last night. Overall, I would have to say I was underwhelmed. I don't really have any interest in baseball, so the baseball jargon and scouting scenes weren't very interesting for me. I was mostly interested in the relationship dynamics between Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams characters. There is one scene in a hotel room towards the end of the film that is quite good, and is a little bit more emotionally resonant, but on the whole, the film is very light. Those hoping for a substantial, emotionally powerful film will be disappointed. This is not "Gran Torino" or "Million Dollar Baby." Those expecting a rousing sports drama with a big game at the end with the team triumphing will also be disappointed. This is a simple story. It is very plainly told. There are very few surprises.
As you all know I love Eastwood, but I feel like we've seen versions of this character many times before. I would be very surprised to see this nominated at the Academy Awards. There is nothing about this film, or about Eastwood's performance, that merit Oscar consideration. Eastwood's given much better performances in much better films.
Clint is Clint, and Amy Adams is good, but she isn't given very much to work with. Justin Timberlake was okay. I didn't find myself cringing at his performance, but his character was very underdeveloped. It seems like they just added him in to the story because they thought they needed a romantic subplot. His role is really not integral to the story.
The relationship themes hinted at in the trailer are there, but they are fairly superficially explored. The scene in the hotel room I mentioned earlier explores the abandonment theme more closely. It details exactly why Eastwood's character abandoned the Adams character early in her life, and it is well done and surprising. It's the films best scene by far. If there were more scenes like that, it would have been a much better movie.
The film ends the only way it can. The way things are wrapped up is very cliche, but nicely done.
As for some of the other supporting players, John Goodman gives a very good performance. I feel like he did a lot with the screen time he had, and was definitely the right man for the role.
The one thing about this film that really did surprise me was that I actually missed Eastwood's musical score. I've been complaining for awhile about his scores consisting of the same piano keys playing over and over, but I missed it just the same. Marco Belltrami's score doesn't really have a unifying theme, while Eastwood's scores always do. I know that it's probably very unexpected for me to say that I preferred Eastwood's fairly one note scores to that of a two-time Academy Award nominated composer, but I did, and I thought that was worth noting.
Overall, I felt as if this film was okay. It's not a bad film. It's just not an excellent one, either. The trailer is very representative of the tone of the film. If you liked it, you'll probably like the film. If you didn't, you may be disappointed. If you have muted expectations, or enjoy baseball, you might really enjoy this, but if you are hoping for or expecting something beyond that, you will be disappointed. There are some things that are good, but ultimately the story just is not very interesting. "Gran Torino" was a much better film for Eastwood to go out on. I really can't see why Clint Eastwood chose to come out of acting retirement for this.
Reply to Topic
