A full year before Andy Dufresne manage the memorable escape from Shawshank, Robert “Butch” Hayes completed his getaway from incarceration alongside another convict who was just awful enough to make Butch seem honorable by comparison, even if it was Butch’s idea to snag an eight year old boy as a hostage. Perhaps we shouldn’t like Butch, but when hes’ played by Kevin Costner, who thanks to a string of huge films (Dances with Wolves, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Bodyguard) it’s hard not to want to see him escape. As an audience we’re primed to like him whether we want to or not. In any other film, his bolt for freedom would be a foregone conclusion, but in this instinct he’s being chased by a Texas Ranger played by none other than Clint Eastwood, and thanks to his long standing career and recent Oscar win, we might have a feeling the baddest hombre in all the west might be the man to bring him in. Add Laura Dern as a governor appointed criminologist and Bradley Whitford as an FBI agent who’s obviously signed on to play the team prick, and Butch’s days on the run might be numbered.
But if you go in expecting just another chase ‘em and shoot ‘em flick, you’ll likely be disappointed. Although Eastwood is once again behind the camera, this is no Unforgiven. While men still reckon with who they are and their place in the world, this film is softer, more thoughtful, and more introspective of what it means to live in a “perfect world” than your usual convicts on the run movie.
Most of the thanks for that can rest on the shoulders of Costner and his young co-star T.J. Lowther. We know that Costner is usually up for the challenge, but a lot of emotional weight is placed on the shoulders of the young boy. As the two bond over the course of a few days, we learn a lot about each character, and more specifically, what they’ve been missing in life. For Butch it’s likely too late to change, but with Phillip, there’s still time for him to move past some of his trauma and find a voice of his own. By the time the film comes to its conclusion, we know no character will escape unchanged, regardless of which side of the law they fall upon.
While this might get placed into the upper echelon of Clint Eastwood’s films, the man does have numerous Oscars after all, it’s an above average movie and shows he’s comfortable telling an outlaw story where guns don’t necessarily need to be blazing. His character might not be front and center in the story, but Eastwood is definitely in complete control of the fable he wants to tell.
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars.
