50. A Perfect World

Texas, circa 1963. A fugitive convict (Kevin Costner) runs away in a car and takes a little boy as hostage. He’s chased by a tough sheriff (Clint Eastwood) who is supported by a criminologist (Laura Dern), and they both believe that this is not simply a kidnapping case. They’re right. Along the road, outlaw and kid develop an intense, father-and-son kind of relationship.

This is the heart of the movie (written by John Lee Hancock), and this is what makes it a strong, powerful movie beyond the limits of a conventional thriller about an escapee and the lawman who chases him. Of course, you can expect that from Eastwood, a great storyteller capable of transforming a genre film (like in 1992’s Unforgiven and, the following year, this A Perfect World) into a deep meditation about the nature of violence, the need for bonds, and redemption.

What you may not expect is for Costner to change his usual irreproachable hero image (Dances with Wolves, JFK) for this kind of ambiguous “villain.” He truly gives one of his finest performances in this tense, somehow slow but intriguing road movie with a dark side. Suddenly you feel moved, and you didn’t expect it. (Enrique Buchichio)