Clint Eastwood still looks good in a cowboy hat. His latest outing is a gentle road movie, which sees the actor-director happily retreading safe, reliable territory. All feels right in the world as we watch him sleeping under the stars, romancing a widowed restaurant owner and tenderly taming wild horses.
Eastwood plays Mike Milo, “a real cowboy”, according to boss Howard (Dwight Yoakam, the film’s weakest link). His mission is to cross the border from Texas to Mexico and retrieve Howard’s rebellious 13-year-old son, Rafo (Eduardo Minett), from his feckless, gold-digging mother, Leta (Fernanda Urrejola). Also along for the ride is Rafo’s cockfighting rooster, Macho.
Eastwood and Minett have wonderful chemistry as two lone rangers with plenty to learn from each other. “You’re angry – it’s bad for you at your age,” chides Rafo. Yet beneath Mike’s brittle, taciturn exterior is a big old softy. He’s simply the strong, silent type, his toughness tempered by good manners, family values and a fondness for animals. “This macho thing – it’s overrated,” he tells the boy. There’s something touching about seeing the 91-year-old Eastwood in such a reflective mood.
