Stewie's Movie of the Week - Week 5 - "Dirty Harry" | by Stewie Griffin on Feb 6, 2009 at 10:24 pm |  | |
 
In all honesty, I should probably stop right there, because anything I have to say will be greatly inferior to this legendary quote. Ah, hell, let's see what I can do.
Clint Eastwood, to many, is Hollywood. No, not the self-loathing, leftist craven Hollywood of our generation. I'm talking about old Hollywood, when actors acted, and made great movies. Sure, he made his name in the sands of the west, but "Dirty Harry" may be Eastwood's biggest film. At face value, it's a kick-ass B-action film that holds up almost 40 years later in the age of CGI. Underneath this initial layer, however, is an intricate statement on the nature of good and evil and the ambiguous line between the two.
Eastwood stars as Harry Callahan, a no-nonsense San Francisco police officer with a maverick's heart. He's known to subvert the traditional praxes of the law by taking matters into his own hands. Shoot first, ask questions later, he would say, for reasons that become clearer and clearer as the script unfolds.
The film's primary antagonist is known only as Scorpio (played by Andy Robinson). Robinson truly plays one of the most disturbing and detestable villains you'll ever see in a movie. Without giving away too much of the plot, Scorpio is a ruthless killer (primarily with a sniper) who becomes the target of 'Dirty' Harry Callahan.
As I said, there's enough action to carry the movie by itself, and Eastwood delivers a truly robust performance. Dirty Harry is one of the most memorable characters of his generation, and the film was complemented by three others in the "Dirty Harry" tetralogy. However, there is a truly disheartening political question that binds the movie together: the role of government in the equivocal struggle between good and evil.
On one hand, you have utter evil in Scorpio. That point is not up for debate. However, Dirty Harry represents what some would consider a quasi-fascist approach to law enforcement: he is concerned less about the rights of citizens and more about their safety. His peers and superiors in the SFPD, however, especially his chief and the D.A, combat his efforts by undermining him and preaching a doctrine of criminal's rights. Caught up in all this is Harry's new partner, Chico Gonzales (Reni Santoni plays the part very solidly), who is somewhat symbolic of the viewing audience. He is the relatable figure, the understated everyman with whom the attentive viewer will most empathize.
In all, the film really allows the audience to make up its own mind, and I wouldn't respect it if it did otherwise. Callahan is almost a Byronic hero, the guy you cheer for but may not agree with. The ending is tragic, but absolutely grounded in a sort of psychological realism that would make Henry James proud. Along with a slew of classic one-liners, unforgettable screenshots, and action-packed sequences set to a perfectly-timed soundtrack, "Dirty Harry" is a huge accomplishment of a film, both fun and affecting.
8.5/10
Category: Entertainment
Tags: review, Movie, Dirty, Harry, Eastwood, Clint, Hammerhead
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