Cry Macho - which is not a good title, by the way - begins with some clunky expository dialogue and acting - it isn't necessary to say 'You've won five rodeo championships and then broke your back, and since your wife and kid weren't around I've looked after you'. Absolutely none of that needs to be said, especially as we see all his trophies and newspaper headlines - all the rest can emerge slowly, as in the best screenplays. And this is odd, because Nick Schenk has been involved in Gran Torino and The Mule and The Judge. And therefore, you'd think, knows what he's doing. Plus, as we know Eastwood the director gets involved in scripts, you would have thought he would have found problems there himself, so maybe some accusations that the ninety-year-old is losing his grip are valid.
He also finds the boy (Eduardo Minett) far too easily and the boy comes along far too easily - where's the conflict? Anyway, when the couple find the town and sleep in the church and meet the widowed grandmother, then it begins to find its feet and becomes an amiable adventure, with the boy's chicken proving useful. It's also beautifully photographed, by Ben Davis (Three Billboards, Doctor Strange, Seven Psychopaths). Edited by Joel and (I'm guessing his son) David Cox.
Based on a novel by N. Richard Nash, who co-wrote. With Natalia Traven, Fernanda Urrejola, Dwight Yoakam, Elida Munoz, Horacio Garcia Rojas.
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