Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut is about a smooth talking
jazz-rock radio DJ that gets involved with crazed fan Evelyn (Jessica Walter (Ghost in the Machine)). She stalks him, abuses him, attacks him and
so on. You know the drill.
The stalker movie was something newer back in ’71 but since
it’s been done so many times between then and now this one doesn’t have a lot
of impact. All of the typical things
happen that you’d expect like Evelyn seems normal at first glance, Eastwood
tries to get back together with an old flame causing Evelyn to unleash her rage
on the ex, the police don’t/can’t do shit ‘cause they think the scenario
appears flimsy and all that shit.
Usually I love a good stalker picture but this one isn’t
executed as well as most. The biggest
problem is there’s hardly any build up.
You know Evelyn is pushy and crazy from the second encounter leaving you
only more and more drastic places to take the character for most of the run. I’m surprised Eastwood didn’t kill her
halfway through the film.
The bad pacing isn’t only due to the villain’s rushed
character development but also the million fucking shots of people walking on
beaches or in fields. Every so often the
movie has to stop to give you a very nice view of northern California which Eastwood
clearly loves and just has to show you.
These parts are almost like high grade home movies or the stereotypical
easy listening album cover. Yea, it’s
pretty. I get it. But this isn’t helping your movie man. Neither is that unnecessarily long stretch
showing off the 1970 Monterey Jazz Festival.
This is one of the worst stalker films I’ve seen. You’re better off watching Fatal Attraction, Obsessed, The Boy Next Door, hell maybe even The Perfect Guy. But this was crucial for Eastwood as a director. He needed to cut his teeth on something and
this was the sacrificial lamb. He got
better really quickly too because his next feature was the fuckin’ High Plains Drifter. He’s not the best director and never
developed much of a recognizable style over the years but he usually does a decent
job. Just don’t ask him to play “Misty”
for you.
This poster kinda reminds me of something... |
...oh, right. |
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