DIRECTOR: Clint Eastwood. CAST:
Clint Eastwood, Genevieve Bujold, Dan Hedaya, Alison Eastwood, Jenny Beck, Rod
Masterson, Marco St. John, Rebecca Perle, Regina Richardson, Randi Brooks,
Jamie Rose, Margaret Howell, Rebecca Clemons, Janet MacLachlan, Graham Paul,
Bill Holliday, John Wilmot, Margie O’Dair, Joy N. Houck Jr.
Clint Eastwood departs somewhat from his Dirty Harry
character for this police thriller, in which he pursues a serial rapist and
murderer targeting local sex workers. Clint’s Wes Block character leads a
double life of a divorced father of two who also frequents New Orleans’
red-light district to indulge his kinky sexual interests. He soon finds himself
in a cat-and-mouse game through the city’s seamy underbelly, in which he
realizes that his impulses are like that of the killer’s. Who is chasing who
here? Genevieve Bujold is fine as the rape prevention counselor who advises Block
on the case and enters a relationship with him. Dan Hedaya is on the scene and
Alison Eastwood earns special mention as Block’s precocious daughter. Only the
killer himself fails to provide a worthwhile performance once revealed.
TIGHTROPE takes its time getting to the finish line, which is not a
particularly satisfying conclusion. Descending into typical cop movie territory
with a lousy villain and ending ultimately wrecks what is otherwise a decent
movie. TIGHTROPE deserved better than that.
