We recently saw two movies that are likely the last for these two great acting icons that are now in their early to late 80 years of age: Robert Redford and Clint Eastwood. The movies were both very similar in tone — that is, the pace of the stories was a throwback to movies made 50 years ago when careful character development was more important than special effects.
Mr. Redford’s movie, The Old Man & the Gun (portions of the movie were shot near my old office in Dayton, Ohio), tells the story of an elderly bank robber that enjoys robbing financial institutions with panache and style. Since Mr. Redford always liked to play roles where he is the calm and super-intelligent protagonist, in some ways, the role in this movie was expressly written for him.
Mr. Eastwood’s movie, The Mule, depicts the actor as an accidental and oblivious deliveryman for the drug cartel. Since the protagonist in this story is individualistic and a curmudgeon, this role also appears to have been written for Mr. Eastwood. Many of his roles over his career seemed to cater to these traits.
Neither of these movies is bound to be considered a hit, but they both are decent-enough quality to positively cap-off the careers of two very successful Hollywood mainstays.