While I agree that Red and Sally are underdeveloped characters, I feel that they provide a little more than just comic relief. The film revolves around the story of an escaped con being chased by police. As such, he needs someone to pursue him. If you listen to their stories, both Red and Sally have previous history with Butch, leaving both of them to see him as more than just a fugitive criminal and lending a bit of humanity to people we otherwise know little about.
But I don't think we need to know about them. The core of the film is the relationship between Butch and Philip.
I think that maybe they even needed to be in it less, if that was the case. It seemed like they were given too much baggage for what their role in the film was. It isn't a big criticism, just an observation.
I think that saying that Philip "came to like" Butch is oversimplifying what they had. Butch is the child's abductor but at the same time he fills the role of father figure and protector, as unlikely as he may be for that job.
Yes, and I liked that about the film.
I think also that part of the idea of the film is to see the humanity in people, even in a criminal. You call Butch a "bad guy" but I can't say that I agree with you entirely. Yes, he's a killer. He's a thief. He's a kidnapper. But he's also a man who won't tolerate people who are abusive to children or to women. As contradictory as it seems, he has his principles.
Typical Clint Eastwood characterisation there, the anti-hero, who may well be a curmudgeonly old sexist or a racist or even a murderer, but doesn’t stand for rape or child abuse, so he’s sort of a good guy even though he’s definitely a bad guy and probably dies heroically (or anti-heroically). Two for the price of one in this film, with Costner and Eastwood himself.
I also think that although he does become a father figure and a protector to the kid, he doesn't really stick to his own principles: getting angry at the old man for slapping the kid, when he is the one terrorising these and other innocent people, including the other little boy, with a gun. He shot the other escaped prisoner, but he is the one who kidnapped Philip and put him in that situation in the first place.
As to the ending, I don't think that it needed subtlety. It wouldn't have felt right to me if Philip had just run back to his mother when he had the chance, knowing that Butch is doomed. It also would've seemed out of place, given that Philip is only a child and, in my experience, subtlety is not something they're prone to displaying in emotional situations.
I'll give you that the child doesn't display subtlety and that's okay, but I don't think you can pin all the swelling music and Laura Dern shouting 'nooooo' on the kid!
But I respect you opinion, sad that I may be at the fact that "moderately decent" is the highest praise you could give a film I love so much. C'est la vie. Here's hoping the other participants see it differently.
I know the stuff I've said has been largely critical, but these are just some points for discussion.
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). I have no real complaints. Good, solid nomination Vicky. I can certainly see why others fall for it. I'll probably pick it up for my dad some time and watch it with him. Think he'll like it.