Film Review: Cry Macho
Images courtesy of Warner Bros.
Growing up I remember watching old cowboy films with my dad and some (read: most) of them starred Clint Eastwood, the man who stood next to John Wayne as the spaghetti-est of all westerners. But that was the 60’s – where does Eastwood stand now?
Well apparently, he’s still making western movies to bizarre effect.
Cry Macho tells the story of ageing Eastwood, Mike Milo, a fatigued but sober former rodeo-rider whose youthful wild days cost him a happy ending. A friend of his cashes in an old favour and just like that retired Milo is on his way from Texas to Mexico on a mission to retrieve young Rafo.
The film takes its name from Milo & Rafo’s terse introduction to each other, disconnected as they are: Rafo being a street-rat, cockfighting champion, and retired Milo, often requiring around 10 seconds to walk from one side of the screen to the other. What is ‘macho’? These two characters spend the film metaphorically debating the issue as Cry Macho settles into what it really is, a traditional coming of age story.
Why is a rodeo rider sent to modern-day Mexico to smuggle a child? Why is a 91-year-old geriatric the only man who can get it done? I don’t know, but luckily enough for Milo the script accommodates for his fragility, with action sequences relegated to capturing renegade chickens and a barely believable scene where Milo breaks in a horse. Not for a second did I believe it was actually Eastwood getting thrown around by the horse, but I’m glad that they included it so I could imagine once more being back on the living room couch with dad watching old Clint rassle the wild.
I would say that the nostalgia-factor I carry for Eastwood allowed me to enjoy Cry Macho far more than those without. When I saw it in the cinema there was certainly an age gap of around 30 years between me and the next youngest person in the venue, but hey the movie knows its target audience. Not to say you must be old to enjoy it, but there’s a certain reality-barrier that might break those who aren’t committed to letting Eastwood relish in his glory days. One make-or-break scene may or may not involve some romantic elements with someone young enough to be his granddaughter… but if you can suspend your belief through that scene then you’ve passed the litmus test to enjoy Cry Macho.
Cry Macho is showing in cinemas from the 25th of November.