“Play Misty for Me” Clint Eastwood, “The Man Who Continues to Climb a Difficult Road”, Commemorative First Directorial Work

Love fundamentalists = psychopaths? Eastwood's philosophy on love

Clint Eastwood is also a man who does not seek eternal love. There are several works that depict romantic relationships with women, including `` The Bridges of Madison County '' (1995), but the love story is not fulfilled until the end.

An Jack Reacher through and through, he walks away from the scene, accepting the woman's love for him on his back. What is required of the heroine in Eastwood's films is the modesty and moderation of silently seeing off the protagonist without crying or cursing.

However, Evelyn (Jessica Walter) in "Play Misty for Me" is the complete opposite of that character. She is extremely attached to the main character and tries to get his attention by any means possible. She is an extreme love fundamentalist. This work can be interpreted not as a ``horror drama about a popular DJ being attacked by a psychopathic woman'' but also as ``a tragedy of a man who doesn't seek eternal love and a woman who believes in love delusively.'' This is exactly Eastwood's own view of love, which continues to take a cold stance towards love.

"Play Misty for Me" (C) 1971 Universal Studios & The MalPaso comPany. All Rights Reserved.

Looking at a portrait of Dave drawn by Dave's girlfriend Toby, Evelyn comments, ``His eyes are colder.'' Don't those words capture the true image of Clint Eastwood, who ran through the barrenness of love?

To him, love fundamentalists are nothing more than psychopaths. When you think about it that way, ``A Play Misty for Me'' seems like a work that sublimates Eastwood's intense rejection of love in the form of a psychological thriller. The scene in which Evelyn attacks with a knife in one hand is almost a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's `` Psycho '' (60), but to Eastwood she was like the serial killer Norman Bates.

Text: Rui Takeshima

A pop culture writer who wants to be kicked by Hit Girl. Host of the web magazine " POP MASTER ".

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"Play Misty for Me"

Blu-ray [Universal Memories Reprint Edition]: 4,200 yen + tax

DVD: 1,429 yen + tax

Publisher: NBCUniversal Entertainment

(C) 1971 Universal Studios & The MalPaso comPany. All Rights Reserved.

* Information as of October 2020.

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