Tightrope

“There’s a darkness inside all of us, Wes. You, me, the man down the street. Some have it under control, others act it out. The rest of us try to walk a tightrope between the two.”

This comes from a psychologist Eastwood’s Wes Block talks to about his current serial killer in Nawlins. It does aid the obvious focus on Block’s darkness. The emphasis on sexual kink is rather surprising considering Eastwood’s involvement in such lurid subject matter.

You know how you watch films about law enforcement where the question is posited regarding the full moon out in the sky, “You think it brings the crazies out?” I like Eastwood’s (he is a detective) reaction to partner Dan Hedaya in Tightrope: “They’re always out.” In New Orleans a psychopath is stalking and strangling pretty women and it will be up to Eastwood to find him.
 

****

“…by and large, just one night stands?”

“Are there any other kind?”
 

“…wonder what it would be like to lick the sweat off your body.”
 

Tightrope (1984) was a surprise to me. I have never watched it in its entirety until today, but I found myself intrigued by the film’s willingness to present Eastwood’s detective as someone definitively interested in S&M and late night sexual escapades within the heart of Nawlins’ seedy night life. I already mentioned the line to Geneviève Bujold during a conversation when he admits a sexual attraction to her while they were exercising in the gym. Bujold is behind an organization that protects women against possible human danger towards them by showing them (training them) on techniques (combative and reactionary) to help against rapists/attackers. She wants details (she’s a friend of the mayor’s) of the case of the serial killer targeting “loose women”, some of which we discover are sexually linked to Eastwood (the killer has a reason to target women and Eastwood; his past life as a cop and arrest for rape, sent to jail by Eastwood, instigates his psychopathy further) in the city. He’s reluctant, but later recants when it seems futile to leave her out of the loop of the investigation when she might have something to offer him that could assist in nabbing the killer. Soon the two are into each other and she tries to reach his sensitive side, cautiously guarded due to his difficult transition away from a marriage ended by his wife, much to his anguish. Not only did the wife (presented as cold and self-absorbed without saying much dialogue at all) leave him but their two cute daughters as well (Alison, Clint’s real life daughter, is the older daughter, while Jenny Beck (V & Troll) is the younger).

 

While the film does go where you’d expect with these thrillers (obviously Bujold and his daughters, and the nanny who helps babysit them when he’s working his tough schedule, will be targeted), I think the atmosphere of the location of Nawlins, especially the night scenes and trips through the city (the sexual underbelly where Eastwood frequents clubs; chase through the cemetery as Eastwood pursues the killer which eventually leads to the train yard; Mardi Gras where all the local color comes out to celebrate with Eastwood and Bujold taking the girls out for a stroll through it; on a riverboat where Eastwood and Bujold share a lunch and converse), provides a backdrop for the killer to easily enmesh himself within the night life and remain uncaught throughout. That’s part of the allure, I think, that gives Tightrope a gritty “slasher” feel to it that might actually appeal to slasher fans. We spend time with both the cop and killer as they exist within the Nawlins night life notorious (especially in the 80s) for sex and violence; it isn’t far-fetched to believe the killer could get away with his crimes for a period of time considering the city he lives has all types of locals dressed in various costumes and actively involved in the sex club scene.

 

The fact that we see all of this first hand as cinematographer Bruce Surtees follows behind Eastwood and points out the killer’s whereabouts as well (what gave this film a creepy quality to me was how the camera illustrates his ability to hide in plain sight without fear of being caught because he has concealed his identity and remained unknown during the investigation) kind of places the viewer right in the midst of the story (steadicam and the authentic locations utilized such examples). 

• Like when a woman Eastwood meets in a “sex room” while asking if she knew a recent victim asks for him to enter, initiating an encounter the killer watches from a bird’s eye view (inside the room, up close and personal, the camera is an intimate observer as well…).
• Or when Eastwood meets another sex worker who was a “sandwich partner” for the red-headed victim (Jamie Rose; fans of Just Before Dawn will know her as Megan) as she also seductively initiates an intimate encounter; the two later bumping into each other providing an awkward moment as Eastwood is out with Bujold and his kids during Mardi Gras. 
• Not to mention his lustful attraction to a hot blond who enjoys popsicles, handcuffs, and body oil sex.

The film interestingly alternates between Eastwood, the family man, who adores his daughters (and vice versa) and the late night trips to satiate his sexual desires while they’re asleep. It proves that every person has layers to them (secrets not shared, desires yearning to be satisfied, but affection and love for those that matter to them), and pursuing the dark impulses of one’s nature can have a tendency to creep into their professional/family life (how much guarding/shielding can someone do when it comes to their private and public lives?).

 

I think this is part of what makes Tightrope one of Eastwood’s darker, less-mainstream, and more complex films. I think this film and Sudden Impact are good examples of Eastwood and Surtees shooting darker themes/characters/situations without pulling punches. The violence of Tightrope is off-screen, with mostly the bodies shown naked during crime scene investigations. It is only at the end, when the killer attacks both Bujold and Eastwood, that we see him in action with his red-ribbon strangulation weapon.

 

One scene that immediately brought to mind Sudden Impact (when Dirty Harry and that big ass gun show up at a carnival to kick some ass) was when Wes Block has a hired gay gigolo (hired by the killer as a joke) go to the location where he was to get paid, soon entering a warehouse holding Mardi Gras parade floats. It is as good a scene developing suspense as I could ask for. Cool stuff.

So this might just be an overlooked thriller that will be of direct interest to slasher/thriller fans with a penchant for darker, more psycho-sexual themes. Eastwood's performance here, understated and conflicted (I think you can see him trying to come to terms with how his activities at night are becoming detrimental to the job and his family; not to mention, his people he meets are starting to factor into the high-profile investigation), could be one of his best. The sleaze factor might be one of the reasons this isn't on the lips of Eastwood's fans, but it should be