Review of Play Misty for Me (1971) by Liam C — 16 Apr 2015

Clint Eastwood's directorial debut is a very different kind of film, especially for the director himself. It's a small tale and a very unique one for him to tell, as one would probably expect a Western to be the first thing he directed but this is an example of what would go on to be a fantastic directing career. It is also a very different film as it is regarded as popularising the sub-genre that has spawned some very successful films, 'Fatal Attraction' is the obvious first connection but I even thought about 'The Cable Guy' whilst I watched this.

The whole film is very well put together and everything escalates in a very realistic way, it had a great feel and the suspense was excellent. I knew what was going to happen, but still, Evelyn seemed very cute at first but boy did that change quickly and Jessica Walter gave an excellent performance and didn't just go off the deep end like, in the hands of a less talented film crew, that character probably would have. The first scene with Evelyn in his house with the knife I thought could have went an interesting direction if she was still in the house but everything builds up fantastically. Clint Eastwood also put himself in a very unique role and did a very good job, seeing his escalating paranoia was great and he is also rocking a great hairstyle! Although I was kind of confused why he said, 'it goes out to Evelyn', but I guess he was just trying to be nice, she was going off of the rails a little bit at that point, but it wasn't as crazy as it'd soon become. My only real complaint is with some of the editing of the film, the opening credits felt like they went on a little too long but seeing as how all of the credits were at the start, it made sense. However, the sex scene in the lake and the concert scenes felt like they went on a little too long.

Clint Eastwood didn't overreach for his first film and took a solid and simple story and really did something with it, and like I have said, it went on to spawn a plethora of other films. I never seem to have much to say about Clint Eastwood films and it's just because of how watchable and enjoyable they are, but you'll never be able to hear 'Misty' the same way again.