“We all have darkness inside.”

Tightrope (1984)

This film shows a seldom seen side of Clint Eastwood, who is usually portrayed as monolithic and without many foibles, at least in his cop films. This time, Clint’s Wes Block is a bundle of insecurities and not that successful either in his job or his personal life.

Tightrope is the story of an investigation by New Orleans detective Wes Block (Clint Eastwood), an investigation that parallels the dark side of Block’s own persona. The story is fairly pedestrian - a serial killer is murdering prostitutes in the French Quarter - but what makes it interesting is the portrait Eastwood paints of his character.

Wes Block is recently divorced and has two young daughters to raise. In between his work and frequent bouts with tequila, he prowls the red light district looking for thrills. We see Block’s life unfold with sessions of deviant sex punctuated by family moments with his daughters, and of course his work. Watching him answer thorny questions posed by his daughters makes you really feel for the guy. Along with his serial killer investigation, Block gets pressure from a feminist rape counselor Beryl Thibodeaux (Genevieve Bujold), who wants to be involved and is a personal friend of the mayor.

With all of these conflicting priorities, Block seeks the solace of illicit romance and tequila more and more. The murders continue and he realizes the killer is stalking him, killing the women he had contact with. He even has nightmares that he is the killer himself.

The film is dark and moves slowly, perhaps too slowly, but Eastwood’s performance is grade A, as a detective who makes dumb mistakes on the job and also has to struggle to control his inner demons - walking the tightrope. For those who think Eastwood is a one-note actor, this movie may surprise you. Genevieve Bujold is fabulous in her role as the hard core feminist who comes to fall in love with the flawed Wes Block. Eastwood’s daughter Allison plays his daughter here, in her screen debut. Dan Hedaya does a good job as Block’s partner

Directed by Richard Tuggle, I see a lot of Clint’s own directorial trademarks in this work. One is the leisurely pace, and another is the so-so handling of action sequences. The editing could have pared Tightrope down by about 15 minutes and made it a tighter movie, also. Thankfully, rather than the usual insipid Lalo Schifrin score, a muscular jazz score by Lennie Niehaus makes the film seem more lively than it is.

The Warner Bros DVD is presented in color, in 1.85:1 theatrical aspect, and runs 114 minutes.

Tightrope will appeal to fans of Clint Eastwood as well as those who have an interest in the dark side of the human psyche.

Other films that feature police work in New Orleans;

The Big Easy

No Mercy

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening