Clint Eastwood at 91 years old is returning to the screen for his first film as an actor since 2018, and in the first look at “Cry Macho,” Clint is slowing down and reminding audiences that the whole tough guy routine isn’t all its made out to be.
Eastwood directs and stars in “Cry Macho,” which casts him as a one-time rodeo star and horse breeder who is asked by an old friend to bring back his son from Mexico. The set up suggests a smuggling movie in line with Eastwood’s last movie he acted in “The Mule.” But Eastwood delivers an emotional, wistful monologue in the trailer about why he’s no longer “macho” in the way his traveling companion wants him to be.
“I used to be a lot of things, but not now,” Eastwood says. “I’ll tell you something, this macho thing is overrated. People trying to be macho to show that they’ve got grit, that’s about all they end up with. Like anything else in life, you think you’ve got all the answers, and you realize you get older you don’t have any of them. We all have to make choices in life kid. You have to make yours.”
In many ways, most of the movies Clint Eastwood has made since “Unforgiven” have been about once important men far past their prime who are redefining what it is to be heroic or to have character. “Cry Macho” certainly carries on in that tradition, though it saves some space for some smutty humor, too. The teen Eastwood is driving across Mexico lines has a chicken that participates in cockfights, and Eastwood has a priceless reaction when he tells him his chicken’s name is “Macho.”
“Guy wants to name his cock Macho, that’s okay by me,” he replies.
“Cry Macho” is based on a novel by N. Richard Nash, and Nash also co-wrote the screenplay based on his book along with Nick Schenk. The film co-stars Dwight Yoakam, Natalia Traven and Eduardo Minnett as the young boy in what is his screen debut.
“Cry Macho” will open in theaters from Warner Bros. and on the same day on HBO Max on September 17. Check out the first trailer here and above.