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Tightrope follows police detective Wes Block (Clint Eastwood) as he goes after a serial killer and rapist. However, getting closer to the criminal also uncovers a darker side to him that he'd rather keep buried. Something that Beryl Thibodeaux (Geneviève Bujold), the director of a rape prevention program, calls attention to with the above quote during an awkwardly honest yet effective oyster lunch.
See, it is established early on that Block is a devoted single father of two girls, a workaholic, and a frequent client of New Orleans' prostitutes with a penchant for handcuffs and ties. The fact that the serial killer shares Block's same, uhh, interests serves to lift that front a bit and uncover his own faults, at least within himself and his psyche. It is during this first half that the film is more interesting, as we see Block's reckoning of his own actions against the killer's.
Things get worse when the killer also starts stalking him, his frequent paramours, but also his daughters. Unfortunately, as the film enters its last act and chooses to pull the curtain of what's happening, it becomes less interesting. The revelations and resolutions feel anticlimatic, formulaic, and frankly, make the ending feel more like a whimper than a bang, as it pretty much shies away from the layers that made the first half interesting.
Regardless of my issues with that last act, the film does a lot of things right. Eastwood delivers a rather complex performance, the atmosphere is effective, and the dread build-up is well executed. Even though what's underneath might not be what I would've wanted, Tightrope still puts a solid front above it that mostly works... at least for for the time being.
Grade:
TIGHTROPE
(1984, Tuggle)
(1984, Tuggle)
"I'd like to find what's underneath the front you put on."
Tightrope follows police detective Wes Block (Clint Eastwood) as he goes after a serial killer and rapist. However, getting closer to the criminal also uncovers a darker side to him that he'd rather keep buried. Something that Beryl Thibodeaux (Geneviève Bujold), the director of a rape prevention program, calls attention to with the above quote during an awkwardly honest yet effective oyster lunch.
See, it is established early on that Block is a devoted single father of two girls, a workaholic, and a frequent client of New Orleans' prostitutes with a penchant for handcuffs and ties. The fact that the serial killer shares Block's same, uhh, interests serves to lift that front a bit and uncover his own faults, at least within himself and his psyche. It is during this first half that the film is more interesting, as we see Block's reckoning of his own actions against the killer's.
Things get worse when the killer also starts stalking him, his frequent paramours, but also his daughters. Unfortunately, as the film enters its last act and chooses to pull the curtain of what's happening, it becomes less interesting. The revelations and resolutions feel anticlimatic, formulaic, and frankly, make the ending feel more like a whimper than a bang, as it pretty much shies away from the layers that made the first half interesting.
Regardless of my issues with that last act, the film does a lot of things right. Eastwood delivers a rather complex performance, the atmosphere is effective, and the dread build-up is well executed. Even though what's underneath might not be what I would've wanted, Tightrope still puts a solid front above it that mostly works... at least for for the time being.
Grade: