His Excellence Mr. Eastwood

Rating: 10/10 (12 November 2008)

Whether there will be a better picture released in these last few weeks of 2008 remains to be seen, but this is the first truly excellent big budget film I have seen so far.
After making fun westerns which became cultural icons, Clint Eastwood turned to various action films including San Francisco Inspector Callahan who uttered memorable lines like: "Go ahead, Punk. Make my day." His films garnered good box office but not critical acclaim. Beginning with "Unforgiven," Eastwood's name became synonymous with excellence in film making.
Anyone asked to be in one of his projects would be a fool to turn it down, because it virtually assures Oscar consideration. No director in this decade has had more actors nominated by the Academy. No director has scored more wins for cast and crew in recent years. This string of wins will continue with this film.
Angelina Jolie has made a lot of money at the box office since her Oscar win in 2000 with "Girl Interrupted." Since then, Ms. Jolie has become a female version of James Bond in action films like "Laura Croft" or "Gone in 60 Seconds," where she is a tough, sexy chick who can drive fast, shoot straight, kick ass, and rumble with the bad guys. She fits the fantasy in these films, but it strains credulity to believe she can always defy physics, gravity and reality to perform these super heroic deeds.
She has played some serious roles involving some unfortunate accents which are hard to pin down geographically including "Alexander" where she played a Persian with some kind of Slavic thing happening. As the wife of Daniel Pearl last year, she attempted a French accent with some success.
In this film, she gets an opportunity to portray a mom who is looking for her lost son. Under Eastwood's direction, she becomes the actress she was born to be.
The film takes place in L.A. in the 1920s and early 1930s, a small town with trolley cars, modest homes, and T Model cars. The film is like a time machine recreating the past in great detail. With gorgeous cinematography, a tight script, excellent acting and excellent art direction, this film would be the first contender for multi-category wins at the Oscars.
There is one more Eastwood touch to this film which deserves mention. Eastwood is a musician. {If you get the chance, watch his installment of the Scorcese history of the blues where Eastwood sits with Ray Charles and chats with him about music and musicians. I could have watched those two old guys for hours, but the segment runs only a few minutes. Charles died a few months after he appeared in the film.) Film scores are background music often unnoticed. The subtle connection between sound and emotion operates at the edge of the sub-conscious. The wonderful score by Eastwood could be one of the finest scores you were never supposed to hear. Moving jazz undertones with an elegant saxophone rising to the surface on occasion strikes the perfect emotional connection between sound and light.
In a business that caters to the young, half a century of experience stands out. Mr. Eastwood knows what he is doing.