“More than once I had to ask myself... is this movie about my ex?”
Play Misty for Me is a film released in 1971, directed by Clint Eastwood, written by Jo Heims and Dean Riesner, and starring Clint Eastwood as Dave Garver alongside Jessica Walter as Evelyn Draper. It is ultimately about a popular California radio DJ whose life spirals into a terrifying nightmare after a casual one-night stand with an obsessed listener, who begins aggressively stalking him, inserting herself into his personal life, and escalating into a violent, homicidal fury when her unhinged affections are rejected.
I’m starting off a brand-new filmography marathon, this time with Clint Eastwood’s directed films. I’m not diving into his acting filmography, at least not yet. Though, obviously, he likes to direct himself in a lot of his movies, so there is that. This is Eastwood’s directorial debut, and what a film it is. Apparently, he had the chops to direct right from the get-go. I was expecting a western this early in his career, but no... we have a tense psychological thriller that I honestly believe a lot of people are going to connect and relate with, especially if you’ve ever had an abusive relationship or a stalker.
Now, movies centered around stalkers have been around forever. Some of the best films out there on stalkers I’ve technically yet to see, but know enough about... like Single White Female, for instance. But for 1971, this is actually a very early stalker movie that plays out relatively modern, and it’s not your typical stalker fare, either. The two of them kick things off with a one-night stand, and you don’t always get that with stalkers in other films. Often, stalkers watch from afar before slowly becoming more dangerous. Because in this scenario, you have this woman who is obsessed with this radio host... which, I suppose that bit is normal... but after their one-night stand, she gets this idea in the back of her head that they’re already in a relationship... even though she agrees it’s a no-strings-attached thing.
I feel like this part specifically is going to speak to people. More than once, I’ve run into people who believe in “friends with benefits,” but are quick to get entangled and catch feelings anyway... and things get to be dramatic. Not necessarily to this film’s level, but similar.
Personally, I am a big fan of the slow burn of this film. You know almost from the get-go that something is wrong with this woman, who seems to have some severe insecurities which blossom into a nightmare by the end of the film. She just gets to be crazier and crazier, and Jessica Walter... who I know later in life as Lucille Bluth in Arrested Development... does such a remarkable job as a psycho. In fact, if we’re being honest, this movie came out 7 years before Halloween with Michael Myers... and this might be a hot take, but she is far scarier than Michael Myers, especially in that first movie. Jessica Walter as Evelyn really does get to be violent, and you see her violent rage. You see what she does, and that was one of my complaints about Halloween... in that slasher movie starring Michael Myers, you never see anything happen. It’s all basically off-screen and implied, and I figured that’s just because of what was allowed and what wasn’t... but apparently not! Evelyn in this movie is unhinged, terrifying, and kinda realistic. More than once I had to ask myself... is this movie about my ex? Yes, really.
However, when it comes right down to it, narratively... as with a lot of other directorial debuts... it’s an overall simplistic plot with not a ton of character development. You have a simple, moderate local celebrity and you have a psychotic woman. When this film came out, filmmakers weren’t so interested in providing the villain of the story with an extensive background or development where you actually care about who they are psychologically and how they got to that point. I would have to say the same goes here about Evelyn. I think the movie would have been better if it kind of broke down why she is the way she is... make us care about her, but also feel torn because she’s still psychotic. She’s still a terrible human being and should be stopped at all costs... but understanding a character on a deeper level makes things that much better. Even Eastwood’s character is rather flat. He’s just a DJ. He’s Eastwood, so you’re not going to complain that much about it. I feel like a lot of his roles are going to be exactly that, but I don’t know that much about him other than him being a DJ who runs into a psycho girl. I know he has an ex that he’s trying to make things right with... but past that, who he is as a person... I don’t know much about. And the rest of the movie plays out similarly. It’s just a guy and a psycho girl who is obsessed with him and slowly becoming more and more unhinged while he tries to deal with it. They kissed. They kept it simple, stupid.
Technically, I don’t see so much of a director’s flair or vision. It is a competently put-together film, which is a good thing. Sometimes a director’s first effort behind a camera doesn’t come off as well as you might expect. However, this is a solid effort, a very tense, engaging thriller that is performed adequately, and I consider it to be rewatchable.
Technical/Unbiased Score: 37/50 or 74%
Biased/Entertainment Score: 39/50 or 78%
Combined Overall Total Score: 76/100 or 76% (4/5 on Letterboxd)