Heart Wrenching

Rating: 8/10 (7 March 2014)

I think we rarely see this decade portrayed as having hideous monsters existing in it. Something quaint and innocent about those times. Simple. Until the violence enters into your life. You can't imagine the unspeakable pain that is ripped from you when the truth comes to the surface.
Angeline Jolie is fantastic in this film. Best I've ever seen. She morphs into the role without her glamour, seamlessly. You can feel the frustration in her eyes. The pain she suffers is within her hunched over body language. She's a distraught mom and plays it perfectly. I think Malkovich was completely underrated in this flick. He plays a pastor who is clearly fed up with police corruption. You don't know what they've done to him in the past, but you feel he's on a crusade.You feel that his lost cut deep in the past. And he seemed to relish in being a blustery fire-n-brimstone defender of justice.
Eastwood's direction, as usual, is very low-key. He gives you the era without making it flashy. I LOVED the production design on this movie. Every corner made you feel like your were enveloped by this world. An amazing feat when you consider how much was done in-camera. Beautiful cinematography. Just an amazing film.
This movie tops my 20 best.