Clint Eastwood fans will rejoice in the airing of his new film, “Trouble With The Curve.” Detailing the strained relationship between Gus Lobel (Eastwood) and his daughter Mickey (Amy Adams), the film thrives around their mutual understanding of baseball.
As Lobel begins to lose his sight his daughter, whom he abandoned at a young age, has to come to his aide. While resistant at first, Lobel (Eastwood) comes around and begins to see what he’d been missing in his daughter’s life.
While the film takes a predictable angle, it contains beautifully tender moments. Even with the unpleasant disposition of Lobel (Eastwood), his daughter sticks it out. It demonstrates what she’s learned from him and how she is like him. At first, this is not a good thing.
The film flows smoothly with slow character progressions. It follows the natural time frame of emotions and also demonstrates how suddenly things can change. It mixes perfectly slow development and chaotic interjections, while excellent cinematography compliments both.
Scenes weave through nature and back country providing an extra layer of sentimentality to a field meant for tough men. Camera angles highlight every inch of needed softness while not detracting from the masculine tone of the film.
While masculinity inundates the general tone of the film, Mickey’s (Adams) character provides the perfect feminine touch. Having grown up around baseball, she knew just how to make an impression in the male world as a lawyer. Her pride proves to be her own biggest enemy as it is her father’s.
They both sail through the film on this emotional rollercoaster that would end with at least mutual understanding. A spark of this understanding lies in Johnny Flanagan (Justin Timberlake) as he punctuates the chaos with a sense of humorous normalcy. His interest in Mickey takes the journey through various loops while he figures out what she has been through.
Wonderful hints of sentimentality and truth about life punctuate the seemingly gruff film, highlighting the beauty in life and the unfortunate reality of getting older. The emphasis on what it means to be family and sticking together through hard times is exquisitely displayed from start to finish. This is Eastwood’s best film thus far and sets the tone for films to follow.
Grade: A-
