Um Mundo Perfeito

Simply a great movie. I gained a new respect for Costner after seeing this movie. He's always good as baseball players and cowboys, but this character is really a perfect fit for Costner. Combines all the elements that add up to a great Costner performance: humor (Crash Davis from Bull Durham)+ dark violence seething under the surface (Charly from Open Range)+ Child-like enthusiasm (Ray Cansella from Field of Dreams). Severely underrated, A Perfect World stands right up there Eastwood's best behind the camera achievements. And in case you haven't figured this out yet; Eastwood is the man, so do yourself a favor and check this movie out.

Clint Eastwood is an outstanding Director. He directs A Perfect World masterly and we really feel en emotional involvement with the characters and the story.

T.J. Lowther is fantastic as the boy kidnapped by Butch (Kevin Costner), and it is great to see an unlikely friendship develop between the two despite their huge difference in background and age. Costner becomes almost like a father figure for Buzz, and the ending is slightly overdrawn and predictable, but is nonetheless deeply saddening.

Costner gives a great performance as the escaped convict, and despite his homicidal tendencies, we actually feel empathy towards him at some points of the film and feel that he is actually a casualty of bad circumstances rather than a blood thirsty killer.

Eastwood himself plays a reliable part as Chief Red Garnett, but he is very much in the background and he plays a bit-part character as he tries to track down Costner.

I am a big fan of Clint Eastwood both as a Director and actor. If you want to watch a film that really engages you in watching character development and does not focus on action, then this is a must-see.

Being a sucker for any decent road movie, i was always predestined to enjoy this one. The surprising thing is that it's taken all of nineteen years to get round to it. I've always found Kevin Costner to be a likable screen presence and it's here, at the height of his stardom, with top billing that he's on great form. Costner plays Robert 'Butch' Haynes, an escaped convict who due to a botched robbery ends up kidnapping 'Buzz' , a young boy (T.J Lowther) with whom he forms an unlikely mutual bond. Although there's an inherent darkness to proceedings, there's also much sweetness. They form the kind of father and son friendship that as the film unfolds, we realise Haynes never had making it easier to feel sympathetic toward him amid the crime spree. Later in the film, that same sympathy is tested as it's revealed how emotionally damaged Haynes is. To the boy, the whole thing is an exciting adventure as it's highlighted early on that his religious background has kept him somewhat excluded. Haynes on the other hand seems to treat the escapade as therapy for the upbringing he never had. He constantly gives the boy choices and at no point does it feel like a dangerous hostage situation. As with all the better Clint Eastwood directed films, it's stylistically unfussy with emphasis on building a strong relationship between audience and character. Eastwood himself is a great presence in the film, playing a law man trying to keep a steady head, and shares some excellent screen time with Laura Dern. The screenplay also deserves a nod as it serves up some fun interplay dialogue and observations. Some very minor flaws push the limits of credibility, one in particular involving Buzz behind the wheel of a car and some expert last minute breaking, but they give way to what is a heartfelt and touching experience.

An intelligent and resourceful prison escapee named Butch Haynes (Kevin Costner) takes an eight-year-old boy (T.J. Lowther) hostage, as Haynes roams across Texas in the early 1960s. Meanwhile, the authorities, headed by a Texas Ranger (Clint Eastwood), set out to capture Haynes, in an Airstream trailer.

Costner does a fine job as Haynes, an interesting character who happens to like waltz music. Lowther is equally good in his role, a boy who comes from a family whose religious beliefs are quite strict. On their sojourn, the boy acquires, and sometimes wears, a Casper-the-friendly-ghost mask, a symbol of childhood innocence that contrasts nicely with the seriousness of a dangerous hostage situation.

The relationship between Haynes and the kid evolves into a kind of father-son union, wherein Haynes does most of the talking, and the kid reacts, usually with clever, nonverbal expressions. It's a good acting arrangement that plays up the strengths of both actors. It's the best element of the film.

Throughout their odyssey, a collection of oldies pop songs helps to capture the early 1960's era, though I could have wished that the volume had been turned up. Haynes' goal is Alaska, but he doesn't quite get there, and the film ends much more interestingly than it began.

The main problem with the film is the plot. It gets off to a hokey, contrived start. And, throughout the film, the law enforcement component does not work at all. It comes across as stereotyped, irritating, unnecessary, and it is not funny despite attempts to make it funny. You get the feeling you're watching reruns of "The Dukes Of Hazard", especially with that corny trailer.

Even so, the film is worth watching, for the acting accomplishments of Costner and Lowther, and for the interesting dialogue that takes place between their two characters.

Some aspects of this film work better than others, but overall A PERFECT WORLD is a highly watchable film. Kevin Costner delivers a fine performance as escaped convict Butch Haynes. The film primarily focuses on the relationship between Haynes and an innocent 8 year old boy named Phillip whom he kidnaps and befriends (well played by TJ Lowther). Haynes has killed two people thus far and gives the impression of a being a loose cannon, but Eastwood evokes sympathy for the character as the audience learns about Haynes troubled childhood (raised without a father by a prostitute mother - killed a man by the age of 8) and observe his genuine care and concern for the boy. Their relationship is reminiscent of Allan Ladd and the young boy in SHANE. As he slowly feeds us more information about Hayne's history, and lets the audience wrestle with its ambivalent feelings towards Costner's character, Eastwood keeps the film moving with lots of close brushes with the law, car chases and shoot'em ups.

Where the film doesn't work quite is when Eastwood himself is in front of the camera, playing a minor role - Chief Red Garnett - a Texas Ranger who's in charge of Haynes' capture. The primary function of his character, and Laura Dern's (who plays Sally Gerber - a criminologist the Governor forces upon the Chief) in the script is to supply further information about Haynes' past. Unfortunately, Eastwood tries to flesh out the relationship between these characters through antagonistic chauvinist attitudes towards Gerber and creating a power struggle between the two which (big surprise!) over the course of the film, gradually leads to a mutual respect between them! Granted Eastwood and Dern have marquee value - especially Eastwood, are fine in their roles, and, of course, chauvinism was alive and well in 1960's Texas, but I mostly found these minor subplots annoying and unnecessary. It's the scenes and issues focusing on Costner's character that are the life blood of this picture. This criticism aside, Eastwood does a solid job directing, weaving action, suspense and thought provoking human drama into a well knit weave and Costner delivers one of the best acting performances of his career.

7 1/2 out of 10