Whether he’s playing an edgy cop in theDirty Harryfranchise ordirecting a complex tale of a good mancaught between right and wrong inJuror #2,Clint Eastwoodhas always had an effective ability to examine the dark side of the human condition. The protagonists in his films, despite their righteous intentions, often have flawed textures that make them equally gripping as the stories presented. When thecop thrillerTightropehit cinemas in 1984, however,Eastwood entered into the most chilling performance of his career.
Following the success of the fourthDirty Harryentry,Sudden Impact, Eastwood reached American icon status to the extent that US PresidentRonald Reaganwas quoting his iconic San Francisco inspector in speeches. But after years of playing the magnum-wielding cop standing up for the rights of the victims against a system that played favor to the criminals, Eastwood challenged himself by playing a cop with a tormented dark side inTightrope. The script byEscape from AlcatrazscreenwriterRichard Tugglewas intended as a reunion vehicle for Eastwood andDirty HarrydirectorDon SiegeluntilTuggle decided to direct it himself. Though the premise reads like another tale in Eastwood’s popular franchise,the unpleasant aspects of his role as a New Orleans cop allowed the legendary star to make a rare turnas a more human than heroic character.
What Is ‘Tightrope’ About?
Eastwood’s Wes Block is a homicide detective in the Big Easy who shares custody of his two daughters (Allison EastwoodandJenny Beck) when he’s called in to investigate the murder of a call girl in her apartment. The murder is part of a systematic pattern of sex workers who get stalked and assaulted by male assailants, occasionally leaving few traces of evidence behind. As Block navigates the dive bars and brothels of New Orleans to find the killer,he engages in sexual activities with the ladies of the night, whom he questions.
The case becomes increasingly complicated as each sex worker ends up dead hours after sleeping with Block. The detective gets assistance from victim advocate Beryl Thibodeaux (Genevieve Bujold) not only to find the killerbut also to provide a meaningful relationship in contrast to his sleazy liaisons.As the killer taunts Block with mind games that play with the cop’s identity, the danger hits close to home when sights are set on Block’s daughters.
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Eastwood retains the usual gruff and cool one-linersaudiences expect from him inTightrope. However, he restrains his charismatic persona to play a man easily tempted by kinky liaisons with the various prostitutes he encounters. Where Harry Callahan was a cop pent-up with angst over a flawed justice system, Eastwood’s Block has been exposed to so many sex-related crimes that it destroyed his marriage,forcing him to become a present father in his girls’ lives.The addition of Eastwood’s real-life daughter Allison allows the icon to soften his masculine persona for many ofTightrope’s moments of levity, including a funny moment when he has to explain to the girls about a stimulating catchphrase. Block’s children areTightrope’s dramatic ironyby juxtaposing parental life with the sleazy life on the street.
Clint Eastwood Brings Rare Character Complexity in ‘Tightrope'
Block’s dark side goes even further than any Eastwood performance, including his womanizing soldier from 1971’sThe Beguiled. A deeply broken man seeking pleasure in the shadows of New Orleans, the actor subverts his traditionally masculine persona in a scene where Block enters a gay bar to question a queer male. Though Block shuns the man’s advances, there’s an eyebrow-raising moment when asked about never trying gay romance, to which Block replies, “Maybe I have”. This was no ordinary Eastwood one-liner in the way he delivers the dialogue. This was the equivalent ofJames Bond’s interaction with Silva inSkyfall:A man with an ambiguous past, too deep in a rabbit hole to discover.
At its core,Tightropeis aHitchcockian thrillerwith elements oferotic thrillers, includingDressed to KillandBasic Instinct. The early scenes involve the systematic killings of the prostitutes, and Eastwood does not engage in any major man-of-action moments until near the third act as the case unravels. While the killer’s true identity is not revealed until the last 25 minutes of the film,the mystery is not as important as the actual character study thatTightropeoffers.There’s depth in Block’s relationship with Beryl that grows romantic to a point, specifically when she offers to bed him with handcuffs and he refuses silently. It says plenty about Block’s character growth and the underrated subtlety that Eastwood can give when he’s not scowling catchphrases.
