A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor: an escaped convict on the run from the law, headed by an honorable U.S. Marshal.
Acting
Costner's career-best — menacing, vulnerable, utterly human.
Direction
Eastwood at his most restrained and empathetic.
Writing
The rare script that loves all its broken characters equally.
Director
Clint Eastwood
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Costner insisted on playing Butch against type after Field of Dreams, and Eastwood only agreed to act if someone else directed. He changed his mind.
The film deliberately mirrors the 1962 Texas prison escape of the real 'Texas Seven,' though Eastwood strips away sensationalism to focus on the unspoken bond between damaged men and boys.
US
