Eastwood

Rating: 9/10 (26 September 2014)

Spoiler for Million Dollar Baby. I am an Eastwood Fan.
I think he's a terrific director. Even his minor films are above most other directors.
I don't think you can properly review this film without considering Million Dollar Baby. Eastwood and Morgan Freeman dominated that film, but the actual emotional star was Hilary Swank who won an Academy Award for her performance.
Eastwood works well with women, no question about that. Even at his age, there is something magnetic about the way any woman and Clint Eastwood interact on the screen. In Million Dollar Baby, his tough exterior covered a marshmallow interior. Hilary Swank's character caught on quite quickly and Morgan Freeman always knew it. When asked to help her commit suicide, it was only his love for her that allowed him to do it. She was the daughter that should have been answering all his letters. All his principles up to that point told him that what she was asking was wrong. All his love told him that she was right and he did what she asked.
This film is quite different. His daughter was estranged. But she was very forgiving about that estrangement. So Eastwood has looked at this Father/Daughter relationship from two different angles. This one actually had the daughter present. She gave him her best shot and Amy Adams was just the girl to do it. She's smart, articulate, careful to listen before she speaks, emotional and very well balanced between what her head knows and what her heart feels. And she can express it fearlessly. Amy Adams is very very talented: there is nothing that she cannot express. Any father would be proud of her as Eastwood was.
John Goodman was terrific in a very straight forward cameo roll. He was convincing as a friend and as a sort of Dutch Uncle.
I took one point off for the music at the end. It was appropriate, but very jarring especially since we were quite mellow from the last scene.
This is a new kind of sports film. I think it can be enjoyed by almost anyone. I'll likely watch it again.