Oh crap. |
Who would have thought that Jessica Walter (now 69 years old) could have spun two separate strains of crazy out of the same well of pluckiness? Somehow, though, she does. Except where one is loveably uncouth and spirited, the other is the stuff of Casanova’s nightmares. It's hard to believe. Especially for those of us who saw her as Lucille Bluth first. It’s like going from B to A. And I'm not afraid to say that I would’ve been the last to guess she’d be making whoopie with Clint Eastwood. But here we are.
As Eastwood’s directorial debut, this thriller flick is still pretty solid in terms of the way it takes a traditional gender role and flips it on its ear. Then goes Van Gogh on your misogynistic ass. But really, we all know people don't normally go insane upon rejection at the hands of a bastard. And while this isn’t really one of those 'empowering' movies, it sure as hell will get the self-proclaimed players to cross their legs uncomfortably throughout. Maybe even give 'em second thoughts before they make their way for the door in the wee hours of the morning.
To top it off the film boasts the bragging rights as being one of the first to put castration anxiety into celluloid and under the popular microscope in the days before Bobbitt was a household name. And though there’s a limited amount of menace and a annoyingly folksy montages that can’t seem to escape from 1971, there is enough sinister oomph in Walter’s glare to kill a bull.
Best if: A.) You’ve been stalked before. B.) Miss the days when Clint Eastwood, you know…had hair. C.) You enjoy domestic thrillers.
****
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Story: Jo Heims
Screenplay: Jo Heims & Dean Riesner
Clint Eastwood..............................................Dave
Jessica Walter...............................................Evelyn
Donna Mills...................................................Tobie
John Larch....................................................Sgt. McCallum
Jack Ging.......................................................Frank
Irene Hervey................................................Madge
James McEachin..........................................Al Monte
Clarice Taylor...............................................Birdie
Donald Siegel................................................Murphy
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