7/10
A Perfect World
16 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this film over sixteen years, while I was in college, I noticed my original review for it was pathetically short, and with the 90th birthday of its star and director Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven, The Bridges of Madison County, Million Dollar Baby, The Mule) approaching, it was a good excuse to watch it again. Basically, set in 1963, Texas, convicts Robert "Butch" Haynes (Kevin Costner) and Terry Pugh (Keith Szarabajka) have escaped from the state penitentiary in Huntsville. During their escape, Pugh stumbles into the house of eight-year-old Phillip Perry (T.J. Lowther), who lives with his devout Jehovah's Witness mother and two sisters. Butch follows, and hits Pugh to stop him from molesting the mother. Pugh says they need a hostage, so Butch says they will take the boy. The trio's journey becomes unpleasant when Butch is forced to kill Terry, when he tries to harm the child. With his partner out of the way, the convict and his young victim hit the Texas highway to flee from the pursuing police. Meanwhile, Texas Ranger Red Garnett (Clint Eastwood) is in pursuit. He is accompanied by criminologist Sally Gerber (Laura Dern) and FBI sharpshooter Bobby Lee (Bradley Whitford), all riding in Governor John Connolly's airstream trailer. Red is determined to recover the criminal and the hostage before they cross the Texas border. Red reveals to Sally that he wants to apprehend Butch alive, he has a history with him. He arrested Butch when he was a teenager for stealing a car, at the time Butch was living with his abusive father, also a criminal. Red had Butch placed in a juvenile prison, thinking it was safer than home, and asked the judge to give him a harsh sentence. Years later, Red realises that the harsher sentence only encouraged a life of crime. Red hopes to bring Butch in alive to redeem himself for his past mistake. Phillip, due to his religion, has never participated in Halloween or Christmas celebrations. But with Butch, he experiences a freedom which he finds exhilarating. Butch allows him the kind of indulgences he has been forbidden, including wearing a shoplifted Casper the Friendly Ghost costume to go trick-or-treating. Phillip becomes increasingly aware of his surroundings, and with constant encouragement from Butch, makes independent decisions on what is wrong and right. Butch slowly finds himself drawn into giving Phillip the kind of fatherly presence which he himself never had, at Phillip's request, he gives him the nickname "Buzz". There is a close encounter with Red and the team, but Butch manages to get away when he causes the trailer to crash. Butch and Phillip try to make it to New Mexico, but the highway they are driving on is unfinished. They sleep in the car in a cornfield, and are found by farmer Mack (Wayne Dehart), who allows them into his home, with his family, his wife Lottie (Mary Alice) and his grandson Cleveland (Kevin Jamal Woods). But Butch cannot tolerate Mack frequently abusing Cleveland, and when Mack realises Butch is a wanted criminal, he puts a stop to it. He beats Mack and plans on killing him, but Phillip picks up Butch's gun and shoots Butch in the stomach. Phillip runs out and drops the gun into a well, throws the car keys away, and runs across a meadow. Butch follows, and finds Phillip in a field, he has climbed a tree. There, Phillip apologises for shooting Butch who tells him he did the right thing. Red's team locates Phillip and Butch in the field and surrounds them. Butch soon sends the boy to his mother, who has arrived by helicopter. He males her promise to take Phillip trick-or-treating every year. Unwilling to leave the already wounded Butch, the boy runs back and hugs him, which Red witness and convinces him that the situation can resolved peacefully. His plans are thwarted, however, when Bobby Lee, mistaking Butch handing something to Phillip as drawing a gun, shoots him in the chest, killing him. Red is angered and frustrated that he could not save Butch and take him alive. Red punches Bobby Lee for disobeying his orders not to fire until he said, and Sally knees him in the groin before walking away. Phillip is reunited with his mother, and they fly away in a helicopter. An upset Phillip looks down through the window at Butch's lifeless body in the meadow. Also starring Keith Szarabajka as Terry James Pugh, Leo Burmester as Assistant Chief Tom Adler, Paul Hewitt as Dick Suttle, Ray McKinnon as Bradley, Jennifer Griffin as Gladys Perry, and Linda Hart as Eileen, the waitress at Dottie's. It should bee mentioned, the title comes from the phrase "in a perfect world", used in the film. Costner gives a good performance as the criminal who becomes a father-figure to the young boy, Eastwood is fine as the veteran agent on his trail, Dern does very little, and Lowther is a very talented young actor. This works very well as a road trip, and a twisted friendship between a kidnapper and the captor, the boy and the convict bonding are the most memorable scenes, overall, it is an interesting and enjoyable crime drama. Very good!
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