Karla B. (gaslight) - , reviewed on 3/5/2010 + 145 more book reviews

Unbelievably fast read, and at the end I had to wonder what the point of it was. The author, as far as I could tell, didn't do any original research like interviews with co-stars and acquaintances. All the sources were previously published, so it had a slapdash magazine article feel to the whole thing. It's a stark contrast to Susan Compo's bio of Warren Oates which, despite its flaws, had a hefty chunk of new material and revelations (such as the first, forgotten, Mrs. Oates and many interviews with Oates' colleagues). Eliot here went through Eastwood's career like an impatient, bored tour guide, lingering longest on the Locke lawsuit - which I skimmed out of sheer boredom.

I don't like biographies that end up being an author's pompous Film Theory 101 thesis, and this one wasn't. (However, Eliot had a WTF moment by comparing Clint to [Dirty Harry:] Callahan by saying the names shared a C, L and an N. Okaaaay.....was the word count a little shy or what?) But it was so shallow and abrupt for each movie in Eastwood's career that I felt like I was reading bullet points.

Disappointing, but biographies aren't my thing anyway. I prefer to watch the films and enjoy, and not bother with what happens behind the camera.

IMO, the best thing about the book is the dust jacket. Hello!

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details