A Perfect World (1993)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Blistering performances.

The story begins with two men escaping from a Texas prison. Of the two, Butch Haynes (Costner) is a career criminal. The other is more of a psychopath and it's only a matter of moments before Terry murders someone without much reason. So, when the pair come upon a family in their home, Butch prevents Terry from committing various atrocities on the family but instead convinces him that they should just kidnap the young son, Buzz. Soon, Terry is about to hurt the boy...and Butch kills him.Despite being a killer and escaped con, he isn't all bad. Oddly, there is a real soft spot inside him for the boy. It seems that, in an odd way, Butch sees a bit of himself in the kid and he wants to make their escape fun, if it's possible, for the kid. After a while, the kid begins to bond with the man and the two set off on some crazy adventure. But remember...it's not all fun and games and Butch is a desperate criminal...so what's next?Even though Clint Eastwood and a group of criminologists and deputies are also in the film, they seemed almost irrelevant and the film could have preceded just as well without them. As for Costner, he was terrific and the film was strange but very watchable.

This is one of those films that sneaks in though the script should have perhaps stuck with the characters and action without bringing in some details the way it does to justify the script. I was surprised that there was no real true story to base this on, as I thought being a period film there might be.Kevin Costner is the story here. As a bad guy who escapes prison and kidnaps a little boy to try and flee to Canada, he is outstanding. Eastwood while making this film look great, is in front of the camera a lot less here, but is still effective. Laura Dern is excellent in a limited role. There is a lot to be said for filming the story in Texas, where it takes place. Because of that, I was surprised when I looked it up and realized there is no fact-based drama as Eastwood uses the filming locations very well. It is obvious that he is a very capable director and brings this one well to the screen. Eastwood directs Costner very well. I am not sure that they should have teamed up in films more often.

My opinion---Another wonderful movie signed by Clint Eastwood, an excellent road movie doubling a very beautiful dramatic story between a prisoner on the run Kevin Costner in one of his best roles in Butch Haynes and "is a 10 year old boy," TJ Lowther in The role of Phillip Perry "the story is really taking from the beginning to the end, it is of course a drama, although some scenes that actually lend to make smile more than once (Clint Eastwood has this disconcerting facility to pass The emotions like that, despite the gravity of the subject treated.) There will be a surprising final twist. This film is awesome and asks only one thing is to be seen.

Butch (Kevin Costner) escapes from prison, takes a little boy named Phillip hostage, and leads the police (headed by Clint Eastwood) on a 2-day chase through rural Texas. The boy forms a close bond with his kidnapper who turns out to be a compassionate, though flawed, man.This is a very good movie with some humor and a lot of suspense. Butch and Phillip's scenes are pure gold, extremely well-written and believable. Kevin Costner gives an excellent, subtle, and sympathetic performance. Seven-year old T. J. Lowther is perfect as the boy who sees the getaway as a fun and grown-up adventure; he's endearing without being too-sweet. The movie alternates between Butch and Phillip and their pursuers, and while Eastwood is good as the steely Texas Ranger, Laura Dern is just annoying in a thankless role as a scowling criminologist. I would have given the movie 10 stars if all of the scenes without Butch and Phillip were deleted; they are wonderful together and the rest of the cast is just there to pad the movie.Directed by Eastwood, the film is ultimately a sad one but Costner and Lowther are outstanding.