Heh, when I moved this up in my queue, I didn't know that the story would start on Halloween and end a few days later. That detail is too minor for a summary on Netflix or even Wikipedia. I just wanted something that wasn't horror, even if it is a bit of a thriller. And it's one of director Clint Eastwood's own faves.
In JFK-era Texas, Butch (Kevin Costner) and Terry (Keith Szarabajka) bust out of prison. Thanks to incautious if not unhinged behavior on Terry's part, they see fit to take a hostage, eight-year-old Phillip (T.J. Lowther). Their plan is to keep him until they drive to another state, quite some distance away. Red (Eastwood), a Texas Ranger, starts hunting for them, reluctantly bringing along criminologist Sally (Laura Dern) and FBI marksman Bobby (Bradley Whitford).
The scenario is not as intense as it sounds for long. Terry leaves the equation early on, and afterward, Phillip does not appear to be in imminent danger of physical harm. Butch quickly grows paternally fond of the boy and calls him by his preferred nickname, "Buzz." (I don't because it's easy to confuse with "Butch" in skimming.) He even pointedly gives Phillip chances to walk away.
So why doesn't Phillip? Primarily because part of him wants Butch for a father figure, his real father being long absent. In a way, he's freer around Butch, particularly as his mother, an extra-strict Jehovah's Witness, begrudges him common childhood joys such as trick-or-treating (now you know the reason for the timing). And who better than a career criminal to not enforce discipline?
In case you're wondering, most of Butch's offenses are thefts that seem almost necessary to him; he tends to spend money when he can. He did kill at Phillip's age, but the victim was a violent wanted man, and it takes special circumstances to get Butch back in that frame of mind. We learn from Sally that he got a raw deal in sentencing.
Are we to see Butch as good overall? I think the movie invites you to decide for yourself. By the third act, Phillip still likes Butch but has realized that he is unfit to idolize. He's not heroic except in the tragic sense, nor is his lifestyle wholesome for raising a kid; Phillip gets exposed to things an eight-year-old shouldn't. I suspect that a few moments had to be cut for a PG-13.
By the way, since Phillip gets kidnapped from home at night, he spends more than half the movie wearing only a shirt and briefs. If Beasts of the Southern Wild bothered you that way, then so may APW. It's especially disturbing when Terry peeks in the briefs (the camera retains modesty) and attempts further molestation.
You may have noticed that I haven't said much about Red and company. As often happens in these movies, the fugitive and the pursuer share exactly one scene, and the pursuer gets less screen time. Much of that screen time herein borders on comical, since Red keeps butting heads with a governor who cares mainly about his image to aid reelection. One of the governor's demands is that Red ride in a "futuristic" trailer that proves less than ideal for a police chase, especially when the driver hasn't trained for it.
I'm afraid Sally doesn't contribute as much to the solution as we were led to expect. Apart from helping to get a sense of Butch's personality, her function is to be treated unfairly. First the Rangers mistake her for a secretary; then they see her as just another unnecessary adjunct ordered by the governor. Red comes to respect her intelligence, but Bobby aggressively courts her until Red intervenes. Things never play out as she hopes. (Incidentally, she's the one who says, "In a perfect world, this wouldn't happen.")
Regarding Red, there's not much to say if you've seen Eastwood before: a bitter tough guy, generally good but rude and somewhat loose with rules. He even strikes a Man with No Name signature pose, albeit unarmed. We never find out whether he's good or bad with kids; he doesn't deal with Phillip that directly.
APW isn't everything the viewers wanted, including its inherently limited target audience. Nevertheless, if you're like me, you'll find it sufficiently entertaining. Abduction stories usually are.
No comments:
Post a Comment