With the relatively recent string of directorial hits from Clint Eastwood, it's easy to forget about this rough cut gem from 1993 in which Eastwood also has a supporting role. "A Perfect World" takes one through an entire range of human emotion while focusing on a hostage situation in progress. Kevin Costner plays against type as a small time hood who kidnaps an eight year old boy with his partner, and then dispatches the partner when it appears he may have tried to abuse the youngster. Reaching back into his own troubled past, Butch Haynes (Costner), over the course of the picture, attempts to provide his ward Phillip (T.J. Lowther) with the type of surrogate fatherhood that both have lacked in their respective lives.
What makes the story so compelling is the way Butch takes Phillip under his wing as the story progresses. At all times, Butch is a straight shooter, he tells Phillip the truth about the boy's father never coming back and how his mother's lying about it. At an age where he instinctively knows this to be true, Phillip comes to respect and trust the man who in every other respect is a frightening criminal. The telling moment is when Butch takes the boy 'trick or treating', and Phillip makes repeated attempts to hold his hand until Butch relents. That single moment captured the essence of a relationship that was about to turn horribly bad.
This is one picture for certain that doesn't fall into convention, where you can see the end coming from a mile away. In the split second during the scene when Butch terrorizes the black family, you don't have enough time to reflect on whether Phillip will actually pull the trigger or not, and then BAM! - it's an entirely different story. As with many pictures though, the dramatic ending leaves a lot more questions than answers. For example, what about the trauma Phillip is likely to suffer for his role in helping to capture and kill Butch? Whisking him away in an emergency helicopter doesn't resolve that whole issue, much as we like to see our pictures tied up into a nice neat bundle.
Anyway, this is a compelling story that isn't afraid to bring it's viewers 'outside the box' of traditional movie fare. It forces one to think about the nature of good and evil, and how they can exist in the same person. It's a movie that you won't easily forget the day after you saw it as is the case with so many pictures relying on shoot 'em up action and a clear cut victory for the good guys.
What makes the story so compelling is the way Butch takes Phillip under his wing as the story progresses. At all times, Butch is a straight shooter, he tells Phillip the truth about the boy's father never coming back and how his mother's lying about it. At an age where he instinctively knows this to be true, Phillip comes to respect and trust the man who in every other respect is a frightening criminal. The telling moment is when Butch takes the boy 'trick or treating', and Phillip makes repeated attempts to hold his hand until Butch relents. That single moment captured the essence of a relationship that was about to turn horribly bad.
This is one picture for certain that doesn't fall into convention, where you can see the end coming from a mile away. In the split second during the scene when Butch terrorizes the black family, you don't have enough time to reflect on whether Phillip will actually pull the trigger or not, and then BAM! - it's an entirely different story. As with many pictures though, the dramatic ending leaves a lot more questions than answers. For example, what about the trauma Phillip is likely to suffer for his role in helping to capture and kill Butch? Whisking him away in an emergency helicopter doesn't resolve that whole issue, much as we like to see our pictures tied up into a nice neat bundle.
Anyway, this is a compelling story that isn't afraid to bring it's viewers 'outside the box' of traditional movie fare. It forces one to think about the nature of good and evil, and how they can exist in the same person. It's a movie that you won't easily forget the day after you saw it as is the case with so many pictures relying on shoot 'em up action and a clear cut victory for the good guys.