Here it is 2021, and the actor-director duo that is Clint Eastwood is still releasing movies into theaters. While Eastwood’s 2018 “The Mule” was something of a mixed bag with critics — our own Joe Blessing called it a “strange movie” that “doesn’t work when it should and it does work when it shouldn’t” — Eastwood proved he still has stories to tell and chops behind the camera. So don’t sleep on “Cry Macho,” no matter how treacle its premise may seem to seasoned moviegoers.
READ MORE: ‘Cry Macho’ Trailer: Clint Eastwood Returns To The Manly Western Genre
While it’s hard to imagine a movie audience unfamiliar with the work of Eastwood, the latest feature from Warner Bros. is leaving nothing to chance. The video opens with words of praise from fellow filmmakers Steven Spielberg, John Lee Hancock (“The Alamo,” “The Blind Side“), and, uh, Mel Gibson. From there, it segues into behind-the-scenes footage from “Cry Macho,” with producer Tim Moore drawing overt connections between Eastwood’s new role and the iconic cowboy persona he developed over the course of his career.
READ MORE: Clint Eastwood Will Direct And Star In ‘Cry Macho’ Adaptation For Warner Bros.
And while all movie features are inherently promotional and a little fluffy, there’s something to be said for the way the “Cry Macho” feature celebrates the return of Eastwood’s cowboy aesthetic. “The thing that everybody loves to see is Clint in a cowboy hat and on a horse,” Moore explains. “He hasn’t been on a horse since ‘Unforgiven.'” At 91-years-old, any scene involving a horse — no matter how mundane the action — has to be considered a high-risk stunt, and so there’s more than a bit of nostalgia here for the Eastwood movies we grew up on.
Here’s the full plot synopsis for “Cry Macho”:
Directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, “Cry Macho” follows the story of a one-time rodeo star who takes a job escorting a boy from rural Mexico back to his Texas home. The unlikely pair faces an unexpectedly challenging journey, during which the world-weary horseman finds his own sense of redemption through teaching the boy what it means to be a good man.
“Cry Macho” will be available exclusively in theaters and on HBO Max on September 17, 2021.