I know that this review maybe the most bias thing you will read, but I have to say that Clint Eastwood should be hailed as the greatest living director, for he has produced a film of such power and emotion in the most subtle way going.
Angelina Jolie plays a woman in the 20s, whose son disappears. Five months later, and the LA Police department claim to have found him, but the boy is definitely not hers, and so not to look ridiculous in the sight of the public, the police turn of Jolie, to the extent of locking her away in an institute for the insane.
I won't give too much else away as this has layer after layer of subplots, only to say that 2 hours and 20 minutes fly by, as you are caught by the masterful storytelling. John Malkovich gets to throw his weight around as an avenging preacher who takes up the woman's case, but the film belongs to two people: Jolie and Eastwood.
Jolie is astounding, giving the performance of her career, and showing such emotional depth, and even when she is called upon to lose the plot, she does it with such conviction it grabs every heart string and pulls with all its might. if she doesn't walk away with the Oscar this year, there is no justice in the world.
Eastwood, at the young age of 78, has delivered another storming movie. His direction is crisp yet underplayed and he never allows flashy camerawork to interfere with the story, letting his actors do the work, and they are all magnificent. With beautiful music, composed by himself, nothing in the film is out of place the pace moving along brilliantly without rushing a single scene.
Truly, and without argument, the film of the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment