White Hunter, Black Heart
In 1990, White Hunter, Black Heart became Clint Eastwood's third film (following Pale Rider and Bird) to debut at the Cannes Film Festival. More than a dozen years later, it stands as one of the more obscure entries in Eastwood's filmography. On the one hand, it's the lowest grossing film that Eastwood has ever starred in, pulling in a lowly $2.3 million at the box office, and many moviegoers are utterly unfamiliar with it. On the other hand, the film's small-but-rabid following has been known to rank it among Eastwood's best, with some going so far as to call it the finest -- acting or directing -- moment in Eastwood's career.
It's not hard to see why this film flopped at the box office. Studio execs must have shit a brick at the sight of Clint, in the film's opening scene, sporting a scarf, speaking in a rapid cadence and looking the polar opposite of Dirty Harry. Bird had been arguably Clint's boldest foray into experimental filming to this point, but in White Hunter, Black Heart he upped the risk factor by appearing in front of the camera as well as behind it.
Eastwood stars as Dan Wilson, a character loosely based on legendary director John Huston (The African Queen). It's a few years after the close of World War II, and Wilson is set to start filming an ambitious project set in Africa. In the opening scenes, we see him butting heads with the film's financers and producer (a solid George Dzunda), and working on the movie's script with screenwriter Peter Viertel (Jeff Fahey).
The company moves to Africa, where an interesting trend continues: Wilson, the film's director, seems more interested in hunting an elephant than prepping for his movie. Will Wilson's considerable ego and newfound gaming obsession sabotage the successful shooting of the movie?
The film's setting in Africa lends itself to some gorgeous photography and memorable music, and sets up a fascinating dynamic between the white upper class and the black natives. While the film's central theme is obsession, Eastwood also has some interesting things to say about colonialism, racism and machismo culture.
White Hunter, Black Heart is a character-driven film, and the Wilson character is one of the most interesting Eastwood has ever played. He's admirable in many respects, loathsome in others. It's jolting at first to see Eastwood as a high-society chatterbox. But as the movie progresses, it becomes apparent that this bold acting risk has resulted in one of Eastwood's richest performances.
The handsome Fahey also shines as Viertel, and it's a mystery why this actor never became a major star. Perhaps it's just another example of Eastwood the director pulling a career-topping performance from an actor (see Kevin Costner in A Perfect World, Forrest Whitaker in Bird, Jaimz Wolvett in Unforgiven, etc.). Check out the scene in which Viertel and Wilson discuss the sinfulness of killing an elephant -- it's screenwriting and acting at its finest.
The film also allows Wilson to expound on the art of filmmaking, and you can sense Eastwood's own filmmaking philosophy seeping through the dialogue. "You know why you'll never be a great screenwriter?" Wilson asks Viertel. "Because you let 8 million popcorn eaters pull you this way or that." In making this brazenly uncommercial movie, Eastwood the filmmaker certainly wasn't concerned with weekend grosses.
Wilson's obsession with killing an elephant leads White Hunter, Black Heart to an dark, utterly unconvential ending. "You were right," remarks Wilson in the film's final scene, "The ending is all wrong." But Eastwood (and few filmmakers) have gotten it more right than he does here, with a daring, un-Hollywood, thought-provoking finale that ripples with independent spirit.
Whit e Hunter, Black Heart features Eastwood the actor-director at his uncompromising best. A worthy precursor to the masterful Unforgiven, which arrived two years later, this beautifully written, shot, and acted film is an overlooked gem that's long overdue for some attention.
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Eastwood's Wilson character isn't afraid to get his drink on, and the results are frequently memorable.
Wilson's darker side often comes across through his interactions with females.
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