The Movie Room

Play Misty for Me 1971, directed by Clint Eastwood

Rating: 8/10

Clint Eastwood became famous starring in Western films, but the first movie he directed is set in modern day Carmel-by-the-Sea, California where Clint is a DJ. This movie feels like a proto-Fatal Attraction as one of the women Clint starts a relationship with becomes obsessed and violent. For a debut directorial feature, this is solid!

Like a lot of Eastwood’s movies before the 2000s, this movie is really dated (this is also why I don’t own many of his earlier movies). One scene that really stands out in a “This is 1971!” way is when Clint and his main (non-obsessed) girlfriend have sex under a waterfall. I feel like this is a scene I have seen in other movies from around the same time. The scenery, the music, the hair, the camera angles—everything about this scene is pure 70s sex scene cheese. This also adds to the corniness in a lot of Eastwood films where he plays an older man with younger women going after him. His two main romantic interests in this movie are both about 10 years younger than him, which is nothing compared to what he does in films like The Mule when he is approaching 90 and having sex with a 19 year old, but it still feels more like wish fulfillment on his part more than anything else. Even with these qualms, this movie is a lot less dated than some of his others, like The Eiger Sanction. The cheesiness here is somewhat endearing instead of painful to watch like it can be in other films.

What works great here are the two lead performances. Clint Eastwood knows his strengths as an actor and always makes sure to play to them. He is not the actor with the widest range, but unlike some other actor-directors, he never uses his artistic freedom to go outside his capabilities—I don’t think I’ve ever seen him miscast in one of his own directed movies. The way he handles the obsessive girlfriend feels right for this character and Eastwood is able to play an endearing playboy type who is kind of a jerk but that you still get why people like him. As the obsessive girlfriend, Jessica Walters steals the movie. I grew up with her on Arrested Development and Archer, so I was originally not sure about seeing her in a dramatic role, but every time I watch this movie, she blows me away. She is able to play the part with such nuance and believability, and without the over-the-top melodramatic bunny-burning antics in Fatal Attraction. And while those two are great separately, together they also work really well, which sells the entire more; without a great connection between Eastwood and Walters, the entire plot would be unbelievable, but they really show why he would sleep with her and why she would want more from him. 

Play Misty for Me may be dated, but it is still extremely watchable and a fun thriller. The acting is great, especially from Clint Eastwood and Jessica Walters, and I think is superior to the later Fatal Attraction. It may not be one of my favorite Eastwood-directed movies, but as a debut film it is a great start.