Cry Macho (2021).......will never be thought of as a major league addition to actor-director Clint Eastwood's voluminous filmography.
It's quiet, thoughtful, leisurely paced and never attempts any strenuous efforts at high drama......
To put it bluntly, it's exactly the kind of movie you'd expect from a director who'll turn 92 this year....a film that comes out of a life long lived.....with all of the accumulated highs and lows.
There's no way getting around it, no way to candy coat it. Clint's really old. now. That legendary semi-raspy voice quivers with age and his movements and speech correspond in their overall slowness.
But he still knows how to tell a story on film with a crisp economy and minimum of artistic pretension that accounts for his prolific output......45 films in 50 years of directing......
Do we all wish that "Cry Macho" could've been better than......well....just okay? Sure. But we'll take it for what it is, a very modest little drama that never amounts to much, but somehow left us contented and satisfied with it.
And that's an achievement that a whole bunch of overrated, overhyped awards contenders didn't even come close to fulfilling, no matter how much praise has been heaped upon them.
Eastwood plays Mike Milo, an ex rodeo star damaged and beaten down by a lifetime of physical injury, wrenching tragedy and his own personal failings. He's enlisted for a rescue mission by his one time employer, a not so benevolent wealthy rancher. (Dwight Yoakam).
The mission - cross into Mexico to rescue the rancher's teen son Rafo (Eduaro Minett) from the abusive clutches of his now equally wealthy Mexican ex-wife Leda (Fernanda Urrejola).
Not an easy task. Once south of the border, Mike discovers Leda's a foul tempered, sex-starved drunk who lives like a drug lord, complete with threatening bodyguards. And Rafo, physically abused by his mom's various male consorts is a wandering delinquent, picking up quick cash off the victories of his cock-fighting rooster, Macho.
As you'd expect, an unlikely road trip unfolds as the tired old guy, the kid and his feisty bird try to make their way back to the U. S. border. Ups and downs abound along the way, including car thieves, corrupt Federales, and one of the ex-wife's vicious goons on the hunt for them.
Halfway through, the film settles down for a redemptive stay in a sleepy little town where Mike finds love with a warm kindly widow (Natalia Traven) and teaches Rafo how to ride horses, a skill he'll need to live his new life on his father's vast ranch.
And if you're expecting any more from this film, that's about all it offers, wrapping up with a climax that's brief, perfunctory and right to the point, with little of the sentimental flourishes you'd think this story requires.........in a way, a perfect summing up of Clint Eastwood's directing style.
"Cry Macho" never really moves out of its wish-fulfillment bubble.......it plays like a dream you might have when you hit the twilight-December era of your life......to find a way to somehow redeem everything that went wrong in all your younger days.......
And unlike the hours we deeply regret wasting on overblown sludge like "Power Of The Dog", we enjoyed reflecting along with Clint........3 stars (***).
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