Narcissists are the bane of existence, unless they happen to be on stage and entertaining us. Aside from that, I find it best to stay far, far away from such folks. Some call such people "characters," I call them a**holes. They make life difficult for those around them and John Wilson is no exception. In fact, Eastwood's egocentric behavior causes life to become fatally difficult for one poor soul.
I am puzzled by those who see this as some of Eastwood's greatest acting. It soon becomes clear that he is doing an impression of John Huston, which is fine, and is recognizable, however I don't think he delivered a single line which I believed. I was constantly taken out of the movie by what I considered to be in fact very bad acting by Eastwood, at least vocally. Supporting actors were not much better, that one guy attempting a poor German accent I believe, and I felt they were all blown out of the water acting-wise by the folks who only had a couple of lines. The spectacle of this narcissist's self centered romp through his life provides a number of action sequences which do suit Eastwood, including a bit of "Any Which Way You Can" bare knuckle fighting. The film is sparse, probably intended to give a documentary feel. Very little in the way of soundtrack. Photography was disappointedly lame. In a movie such as this where I am looking for something to distract me, interesting photography can help. However, probably due to the documentary style choice, the only vaguely interesting shots were brief transition shots between scenes.
Ultimately the narcissist is forced into some realization of his gross selfishness and negligence, and finally comes to accept his obligations to others, although it seems more out of defeat than anything else.
I am puzzled by those who see this as some of Eastwood's greatest acting. It soon becomes clear that he is doing an impression of John Huston, which is fine, and is recognizable, however I don't think he delivered a single line which I believed. I was constantly taken out of the movie by what I considered to be in fact very bad acting by Eastwood, at least vocally. Supporting actors were not much better, that one guy attempting a poor German accent I believe, and I felt they were all blown out of the water acting-wise by the folks who only had a couple of lines. The spectacle of this narcissist's self centered romp through his life provides a number of action sequences which do suit Eastwood, including a bit of "Any Which Way You Can" bare knuckle fighting. The film is sparse, probably intended to give a documentary feel. Very little in the way of soundtrack. Photography was disappointedly lame. In a movie such as this where I am looking for something to distract me, interesting photography can help. However, probably due to the documentary style choice, the only vaguely interesting shots were brief transition shots between scenes.
Ultimately the narcissist is forced into some realization of his gross selfishness and negligence, and finally comes to accept his obligations to others, although it seems more out of defeat than anything else.