A Perfect World Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
A Perfect World touches you from the bottom of your heart. It is a story about a man and a boy. A man escapes from a prison with his partner who he does not like. After escaping, they kidnap a little boy. It is not a simple kidnapping story as people expect with violence and blood. This man, as he describes himself, is not a good guy, but not the worst either. The boy, living with his mom and two sisters, follows their family¡¯s religion, which forbids him from celebrating Halloween, celebrating Christmas, participating in parties, and pretty much any fun common for children of his age. The man gives the boy opportunities to play the games that he wants to, tells him what is wrong and what is right, and asks him to be independent and make his own choices.
| Kevin Costner | Robert 'Butch' Haynes |
| Clint Eastwood | Chief Red Garnett |
| Laura Dern | Sally Gerber |
| T.J. Lowther | Phillip 'Buzz' Perry |
| Keith Szarabajka | Terry Pugh |
| Leo Burmester | Tom Adler |
| Paul Hewitt | Dick Suttle |
| Bradley Whitford | Bobby Lee |
| Ray McKinnon | Bradley |
| Jennifer Griffin | Gladys Perry |
| Leslie Flowers | Naomi Perry |
| Belinda Flowers | Ruth Perry |
| Darryl Cox | Mr. Hughes |
| Jay Whiteaker | Superman |
| Taylor Suzanna McBride | Tinkerbell |
| Clint Eastwood |
7.20 out of 10 (18056 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Great movie
posted on 29 Jul 2009Despite the what the others say, this really is a great movie. I understand why the others on here are angry but they really don't comment on how great of a story this is. The ending made my Mom cry when she saw it. Eastwood gives a good performance and I persoanlly think is Costner's best performance. Which is a break for him because he hasn't acted in any good movies besides maybe Field Of Dreams.
"All things considered, I feel pretty good".
posted on 13 Jul 2009With the relatively recent string of directorial hits from Clint Eastwood, it's easy to forget about this rough cut gem from 1993 in which Eastwood also has a supporting role. "A Perfect World" takes one through an entire range of human emotion while focusing on a hostage situation in progress. Kevin Costner plays against type as a small time hood who kidnaps an eight year old boy with his partner, and then dispatches the partner when it appears he may have tried to abuse the youngster. Reaching back into his own troubled past, Butch Haynes (Costner), over the course of the picture, attempts to provide his ward Phillip (T.J. Lowther) with the type of surrogate fatherhood that both have lacked in their respective lives.What makes the story so compelling is the way Butch takes Phillip under his wing as the story progresses. At all times, Butch is a straight shooter, he tells Phillip the truth about the boy's father never coming back and how his mother's lying about it. At an age where he instinctively knows this to be true, Phillip comes to respect and trust the man who in every other respect is a frightening criminal. The telling moment is when Butch takes the boy 'trick or treating', and Phillip makes repeated attempts to hold his hand until Butch relents. That single moment captured the essence of a relationship that was about to turn horribly bad.This is one picture for certain that doesn't fall into convention, where you can see the end coming from a mile away. In the split second during the scene when Butch terrorizes the black family, you don't have enough time to reflect on whether Phillip will actually pull the trigger or not, and then BAM! - it's an entirely different story. As with many pictures though, the dramatic ending leaves a lot more questions than answers. For example, what about the trauma Phillip is likely to suffer for his role in helping to capture and kill Butch? Whisking him away in an emergency helicopter doesn't resolve that whole issue, much as we like to see our pictures tied up into a nice neat bundle.Anyway, this is a compelling story that isn't afraid to bring it's viewers 'outside the box' of traditional movie fare. It forces one to think about the nature of good and evil, and how they can exist in the same person. It's a movie that you won't easily forget the day after you saw it as is the case with so many pictures relying on shoot 'em up action and a clear cut victory for the good guys.
A very good film
posted on 16 Jun 2009I was surprised when this was released in 1993 that it was not a box office hit.It was the beginning of Costner's box office slide after several years of mostly hit films.I think it is a very good film.Clint, not anything new he was doing here, but he did his usual good job with the role.Costner, not the best actor in the world, but he did a good job with his role. And, it was not a normal role for him.Dern, 1993 being her only hit movie year after the great "Jurassic Park", although her role was small, she did the best of it & at least it was written where a woman could be smart & tough in a law enforcement type position.I liked the relationship that developed between Butch and Phillip. Which was the point of the film.Costner & the little boy worked well together.It was nice to see the little boy have some sort of life & do SOMETHING because at home, well, he had none. Parents broken up with a mother not allowing him to do anything fun because of a religious belief.Good directing job by Clint.
A perfect movie
posted on 07 Jun 2009(many spoilers!!!!)I just saw this movie today, and was impressed. I know I should've seen it earlier, but I missed it every time it was on TV. "A Perfect World", with Kevin Costner and Clint Eastwood tells the story of the fugitive convict Butch Haynes, who escapes with his partner Terry Pugh from the Huntsville prison in 1963. On their flight, they kidnap the young 8-year-old-boy Phillip Perry, and continue their race across Texas. As Pugh tries to abuse Phillip, Butch kills him.
While Texas Ranger Chief Red Garnett (Eastwood) hunts them, the two discover similar bonds, and Butch really comes to like young Phillip. The boy himself overcomes his suspicion and accepts Butch as a kind of "older brother", or even stronger, as the compensation for his father, whom he never knew. As the hunt continues, Butch tells Phillip about his life, and his wish to find his own father on Alaska, where he would like to live in peace and dignity. They make certain stops, steal three different cars, and survive confrontations with the local cops. The movie deals not only with this flight of a criminal, but also strongly with the issues of fathers and sons. That's what put this movie for me above the usual road movie. It goes deep, deals with exhaustion, love, hopelessness, and pure human emotions. The climax of the movie is unexpected. Butch and Phillip stay on a farm, when the situation gets out of control. The farmer beats his young son, and Butch attacks him, even threatens to kill him. That's what causes Phillip to raise the gun against Butch, and even shoots him in the stomach.Garnett reaches the place. Butch stumbles out of the farm and follows Phillip, who sought for refuge on a big tree. Police forces surround them, snipers get into positions. But Phillip is not willing to leave Butch, though he would have let him go to his mom, who also arrived at the scenery. He runs back to the wounded Butch and hugs him. There you can see the love and sympathy the boy feels for the "criminal". I was caught in high attention, unable to move. How would the movie end? Criminologist Sally Gerber is with Garnett, and both of them know, really know Butch, Garnett even knows him from his childhood in Amarillo on. They try to solve the situation peacefully. But when Phillip and Butch move towards Garnett, hand in hand, Butch stumbles again, and tries to give the photograph of Alaska, which his father sent him, to Phillip. The sniper, an arrogant FBI agent, supposes Butch would draw a gun and fires a shot into the chest of the man. He dies, Phillip kneeing on his side, taking the photo and eventually, his mom draws him away from Butch. Garnett is angry. He wanted to save the guy, for he knew the good heart of Haynes. The dramatic ending is impressive. Eastwood made a perfect job both as actor and director, and T.J. Lowther's performance as young Phillip is simply great and convincing. One of Costner's best as well, a road movie with funny dialogues, a thrilling background story, moving emotions, brilliant acting performances, some brutal and unexpected scenes, a great setting in Texas around 1963, and an indeed amazing climax at the end, which makes the movie a dramatic masterpiece.Feel free to respond and to share your thoughts, you can write me if you want.Best greetings to all imdb.com users from Austria!
Kevin Costner stars as an escaped convict
posted on 29 Apr 2009Kevin Costner stars as an escaped convict who kidnaps a small boy and goes on the run from police officer Clint Eastwood who also directs. But only on the journey the boy grows to like the convict and the 2 have fun trick and treating, stealing halloween costumes and sitting on top of the car as it goes down the road. A good storyline with lots of fun until the end.Very artistic and well directed with a very good scripts. A fabulous film , well watching. A hundred times better than Star Wars as it has class and art and really is a film.
A Perfect Movie
posted on 23 Apr 2009I just love this film. It touched me deeply. I had a lump in my throat for many hours after seeing it. But isn't that what making movies is all about - appealing to your emotions.Kevin Costner supplies us with his best performance ever as the run-away prisoner Butch Haynes, but he still does not match the debut performance of T.J. Lowther who plays the child hostage of Haynes'. This kid's behaviour is the most believable and lovable that I have ever seen coming out of Hollywood. There is no wise-cracking hero-stuff from him. Instead he is afraid, shy and everything you would expect from an 11 year old boy. I love that boy and he alone is worth all your money. See that movie please. Rating: 10 of 10.
Costner Should Do This More Often
posted on 08 Apr 2009Kevin Costner plays a bad guy, and you know what? He makes a damn good one. I never knew what he was going to do concerning the kidnapped kid from one minute to the next. Sure, he became friendly with the child, but what was going to happen when the cops closed in on him? Eastwood played one of his usual tough guys, and Laura Dern had a thankless role. This is one of, if not the best role Costner's had so far.
An exploration of violence and redeeming souls, artfully directed and acted.
posted on 02 Apr 2009This exploration of the causes of human violence are dealt with in this film. From the sad and the conflictual damaging childhood of Butch Haynes to the needless arrogance and violence- for-violence sake of Brad Whitford's character, violence is sad from all directions. The movie is directed wonderfully, acted skillfully and scenes intended to be suspenseful or comic are just right. A heartfelt performance by Costner and great directing by Clintwood, along with a terrific script have crafted a very fine movie. T.J. Lowther delivers a terrific performance, with just the right touches of believability in an otherwise hard-to-believe situation. Seeing Bradley Whitford, as truly a bad guy, wearing a white hat, proves my hunch, that he is a fine actor.
Undervalued a decade ago, this film is better than Eastwood's other heralded directorial efforts.
posted on 28 Feb 2009Do not confuse any of the archived reviews by national critics labeling this movie as "mediocre" and merely "watchable" as accurate statements. This movie is one of Eastwood's most interesting and controlled efforts behind the camera. There is less blatant scenery chewing in "A Perfect World" than contained in Eastwood's unduly praised "Mystic River." And although "Unforgiven" brought Eastwood an Oscar, "A Perfect World" is much more effective in its employment of Eastwood's usual methodical pacing and his ability create empathy for men who are "bad, but not the worst" of society.For those that are not Costner-philes, this is one of the few movies that viewers should be unable to find ways to deride Costner as an actor. Costner's performance as Butch is by far the best of his career. Actually, it would be better to note that his performance is nomination worthy (er... was) simply for the fact that I know many people view Costner as a flat actor that is not really on par with other actors of his generation. The scenes between Costner and his young costar are extremely interesting. Butch is given almost all the dialogue because eight-year-old Phillip is more or less a pupil of Butch's (or surrogate son if one thinks of the blatant implications); thus, this movie almost entirely belongs to Costner and the development of his character and he does a pitch perfect job.The movie itself has some simplicities in its other characters, such as Eastwood's Ranger, Dern's criminologist, and the gaggle of law enforcement personal tracking Costner's character. John Lee Hancock's script is not the strongest when focusing in on their additions to the narrative. Plus there are some overly simplistic social commentaries on the role of the penal system, but those are far outweighed by the mass of the film. And Eastwood works around the few weaknesses of the script much better than he did in Hancock's adaptation of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."Considering that Eastwood is a competent director who has created mostly middling works or has been praised for efforts that are far exceeded by the scripts themselves, such as "Unforgiven" and "Mystic River," "A Perfect World" is quite a good film. Also of note is the cinematography and framing of all the shots. Almost all of Eastwood's films, regardless of the shot and lighting conventions of the genres in which he has worked, are terribly sloppy and poor in their presentation. Jack N. Green has been his longtime cinematographer of choice; therefore, it is not as if a new voice was thrown into the mix adding to the success of this film visually in comparison with Eastwood's other works. Nonetheless, Eastwood succeeds in much of his direction in this film andCostner's performance makes this film a nice little gem that was undervalued a decade ago.
Touching and Tragic
posted on 27 Jan 2009This film has two of Hollywood's biggest stars - Eastwood and Costner - both of whom give great performances. But it's the young actor who plays the kidnapped boy who steals the show. This drama is set in Texas, early November 1963 - shortly before JFK's fateful visit to Dallas. An escaped convict (Costner) kidnaps a boy and is on the run from the law (Eastwood) and each of their lives are changed forever. The film is especially touching whenever it focuses on the growing relationship between the convict & boy - Costner's portrayal of the tough escapee with a kind heart is great and the boy is so natural and likeable. Under Eastwood's direction the film is controlled and avoids the pitfall of melodrama. The ending is tragic yet inevitable. I think this is one of Costner's best performances and was surprised when the film seemed to be overlooked by the media. I loved the whole feel of the movie and cared about the characters - even some of the minor ones like the sharecropper family. I highly recommend this film.
Stunning Simply Stunning!
posted on 11 Jan 2009I seen this film at the cinema when it came out in 93' and was blown away with it then. I simply cannot understand why Costner was never nominated for an Oscar for this film, his performance and that of the kid he kidnaps is understated and superb and IMO, his greatest ever...The story, pretty simple, but it's the relationship with the boy that takes over the film. I'd agree that Dern shouldn't be in this film, and adds nothing to it (like all of her roles to be honest)... however, as a package, it's simply perfect 10/10.Do not miss this, all they need is a remasted DTS DVD version, and I'll be first in the q!!! Cheers Pug
A Perfect World Is Perfectly Watchable!
posted on 21 Nov 2008Some aspects of this film work better than others, but overall A PERFECT WORLD is a highly watchable film. Kevin Costner delivers a fine performance as escaped convict Butch Haynes. The film primarily focuses on the relationship between Haynes and an innocent 8 year old boy named Phillip whom he kidnaps and befriends (well played by TJ Lowther). Haynes has killed two people thus far and gives the impression of a being a loose cannon, but Eastwood evokes sympathy for the character as the audience learns about Haynes troubled childhood (raised without a father by a prostitute mother - killed a man by the age of 8) and observe his genuine care and concern for the boy. Their relationship is reminiscent of Allan Ladd and the young boy in SHANE. As he slowly feeds us more information about Hayne's history, and lets the audience wrestle with its ambivalent feelings towards Costner's character, Eastwood keeps the film moving with lots of close brushes with the law, car chases and shoot'em ups.Where the film doesn't work quite is when Eastwood himself is in front of the camera, playing a minor role - Chief Red Garnett - a Texas Ranger who's in charge of Haynes' capture. The primary function of his character, and Laura Dern's (who plays Sally Gerber - a criminologist the Governor forces upon the Chief) in the script is to supply further information about Haynes' past. Unfortunately, Eastwood tries to flesh out the relationship between these characters through antagonistic chauvinist attitudes towards Gerber and creating a power struggle between the two which (big surprise!) over the course of the film, gradually leads to a mutual respect between them! Granted Eastwood and Dern have marquee value - especially Eastwood, are fine in their roles, and, of course, chauvinism was alive and well in 1960's Texas, but I mostly found these minor subplots annoying and unnecessary. It's the scenes and issues focusing on Costner's character that are the life blood of this picture. This criticism aside, Eastwood does a solid job directing, weaving action, suspense and thought provoking human drama into a well knit weave and Costner delivers one of the best acting performances of his career.7 1/2 out of 10
Costner's Best - A Must See
posted on 04 Nov 2008And that's saying something, considering how much I love Field of Dreams.
This is a terrific movie that Kevin Costner absolutely shines in.
Cast against type, he gives a mesmorizing performance as escaped con Butch Haynes.
They only quibble I have is toward the ending with the unsettling scene with the black family.
I understand that Butch has issues with child abuse but the scene goes on way too long and the implications of a murder about to take place make it difficult to watch.
But I guess that's the point.
I've watched this movie many times and still enjoy it immensely.
More people should see this
posted on 01 Nov 2008This is an unbelievable movie that i originally only caught halfway through. It's a great look at what goes on in the head of hard criminal. Kevin Costner does a great job in a role that he's not usually seen in. He's very believable as a hardened criminal while he portrays the softer sensitive side unbelievably subtly. Clint Eastwood is both a visionary and a great actor. "A Perfect World" is a must see.
Average
posted on 08 Oct 2008I saw this film last night. I'm on a streak where I watch every Clint Eastwood movie out there. There is quite some crime scene on this one. However, I don't think I will be recommending this movie to anyone. I really couldn't understand why Costner was as hard on the black family as he was. I may lack knowledge on criminals. I dont recommend this movie to anyone unless you must see every Clint Eastwood film made. I recommend "Absolute Power" instead of "A Perfect World"
Rating - 2.5 Stars
Example of the "Stockholm"-effect
posted on 16 Sep 2008This film is an interesting example of the so-called "Stockholm"-effect: This a psychological term for a perpetrator/victim situation where the perpetrator does/says things that eventually convince the victim that he/she is actually better off being with the perpetrator. In this film the true colours of Butch (a murderer who kidnapped a boy) comes through in scenes such as his conduct towards the African-American family (who provided him with lodging for the night), yet the boy, in the last scene, prefers to stay with the perpetrator. Even 2 of the cops become convinced that the criminal is actually a good guy! The Jehovas Witness-bashing was surprising and disappointing (coming from Clint Eastwood).PS I do not belong to the "Jehovas Witness" religious group.
A Perfect Movie!
posted on 07 Aug 2009In the movie "A Perfect World", Kevin Costner plays an escaped convict on the run from the cops. When he and his partner just escaped the prison,they decide to take a little boy hostage. His name is Phillip. On their journey Phillip seems to see in Costner what a perfect dad would be. They become best of friends. It is a great movie with Clint Eastwood in it also. It is also wonderfully directed by Eastwood. I give this movie an A+. It is a great movie that any family will enjoy.(WARNING!Movie Rated PG13 for violence,sexual content and language.) Again a wonderful movie! If any disagreements please comment.