Play Misty for Me
2/4
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Jessica Walter, Donna Mills
Rated R for Graphic Violence (I guess)
Celebrity stalkers are not a new thing. Many celebrities, from TV news reporters like Kathryn Dettman to Steven Spielberg, are victims of stalking by obsessed fans. Clint Eastwood's directorial debut, "Play Misty for Me" is about a late-night disk jockey who is terrorized by a psychotic fan, but unfortunately, it's not nearly as realistic or exciting as it sounds.
Dave Garver (Eastwood) is a late night radio host known for his smooth voice and the soft jazz records that he plays. Every night, without fail, a woman calls and asks the same thing: "Play 'Misty' for me." Dave obliges, and one night at his favorite waterhole, he runs into a beautiful woman named Evelyn (Walter), who sounds an awful lot like the girl who calls his show every night. He goes to her place, they have sex, and he says goodbye. He thinks it was just a one night fling, until she shows up the next morning with a bag of groceries. She begins to act stranger and stranger, and he eventually tells her to get lost, but Evelyn won't take no for an answer.
In general, I love these kinds of thrillers. Done right, they can be a lot of fun. Instead of quick cuts and gratuitous special effects, they rely on character development, acting and the slowly rising level of tension established by the director. The most famous one, "Fatal Attraction," was about a similar situation, and it shocked audiences worldwide in 1987. That's because Alex Forrest was a well-drawn character (she had de Clerambault's Syndrome) who was well-acted by Glenn Close (who should have gotten an Oscar for her performance). As the psycho-stalker, Evelyn is neither credible nor well-acted by Jessica Walter (although she somehow managed to score a Golden Globe nomination). She's way too over-the-top, which is saying something for this genre.
Clint Eastwood's movies are slowly and deliberately paced. That's great for a drama like "Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil," but not for a thriller like this. There are times when I was wondering what kind of movie he thought he was making. There's a scene at a jazz concert that belongs in a concert movie, and a sex scene that appears to be straight out of a porno. A thriller, especially a one like this, demands flawless pacing.
As Dave, Eastwood is quite good. He's got the smooth voice down pat, and he's a pretty stand-up guy, which makes him easy to like. Unfortunately, the script calls for him to do some very stupid things, and while movies of this ilk must have the heroes constantly put themselves in danger, rarely has lack of intelligence been so obvious.
Obsession is a dangerous and terrifying thing. It causes people to act irrationally and can be deadly (both Dettman and actress Rebecca Schaeffer were murdered by their stalkers). This kind of situation is ripe for a thriller. But ignore "Play Misty for Me." Rent "Fear," an infinitely superior thriller of the same ilk, instead.
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Jessica Walter, Donna Mills
Rated R for Graphic Violence (I guess)
Celebrity stalkers are not a new thing. Many celebrities, from TV news reporters like Kathryn Dettman to Steven Spielberg, are victims of stalking by obsessed fans. Clint Eastwood's directorial debut, "Play Misty for Me" is about a late-night disk jockey who is terrorized by a psychotic fan, but unfortunately, it's not nearly as realistic or exciting as it sounds.
Dave Garver (Eastwood) is a late night radio host known for his smooth voice and the soft jazz records that he plays. Every night, without fail, a woman calls and asks the same thing: "Play 'Misty' for me." Dave obliges, and one night at his favorite waterhole, he runs into a beautiful woman named Evelyn (Walter), who sounds an awful lot like the girl who calls his show every night. He goes to her place, they have sex, and he says goodbye. He thinks it was just a one night fling, until she shows up the next morning with a bag of groceries. She begins to act stranger and stranger, and he eventually tells her to get lost, but Evelyn won't take no for an answer.
In general, I love these kinds of thrillers. Done right, they can be a lot of fun. Instead of quick cuts and gratuitous special effects, they rely on character development, acting and the slowly rising level of tension established by the director. The most famous one, "Fatal Attraction," was about a similar situation, and it shocked audiences worldwide in 1987. That's because Alex Forrest was a well-drawn character (she had de Clerambault's Syndrome) who was well-acted by Glenn Close (who should have gotten an Oscar for her performance). As the psycho-stalker, Evelyn is neither credible nor well-acted by Jessica Walter (although she somehow managed to score a Golden Globe nomination). She's way too over-the-top, which is saying something for this genre.
Clint Eastwood's movies are slowly and deliberately paced. That's great for a drama like "Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil," but not for a thriller like this. There are times when I was wondering what kind of movie he thought he was making. There's a scene at a jazz concert that belongs in a concert movie, and a sex scene that appears to be straight out of a porno. A thriller, especially a one like this, demands flawless pacing.
As Dave, Eastwood is quite good. He's got the smooth voice down pat, and he's a pretty stand-up guy, which makes him easy to like. Unfortunately, the script calls for him to do some very stupid things, and while movies of this ilk must have the heroes constantly put themselves in danger, rarely has lack of intelligence been so obvious.
Obsession is a dangerous and terrifying thing. It causes people to act irrationally and can be deadly (both Dettman and actress Rebecca Schaeffer were murdered by their stalkers). This kind of situation is ripe for a thriller. But ignore "Play Misty for Me." Rent "Fear," an infinitely superior thriller of the same ilk, instead.
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