CRY MACHO

Cry Macho seems cobbled together from a series of first takes after a one-time-only rehearsal of a first draft script.

There has always been an enormous economy of storytelling in the movies of Clint Eastwood, but the veteran director takes it perhaps a step too far in Cry Macho, a return of sorts to his western roots that - considering his advancing age - might well be his cinematic swan song.

If so, Eastwood doesn't go out on a high with this generic, slowly-paced tale of a former rodeo star who travels to Mexico to bring home the teenage son of his former employer. But it isn't so much the story itself that grates, it's the way the narrative unfolds.

If you didn't know better you'd assume Cry Macho was cobbled together from a series of first takes after a one-time-only rehearsal of a first draft script. There are small, interesting nuggets to be found in the movie but they are buried under endless exposition, numerous unnecessary detours and shorthand character arcs.

Everything about Cry Macho seems rushed, as though Eastwood - who would have been better off casting someone at least three decades younger in the lead - already feels like he's living on borrowed time.

release: 2021

director: Clint Eastwood

starring: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam, Daniel V. Graulau, Amber Lynn Ashley