Clint Eastwood and Kevin Costner, two undeniable American icons, were born to team up. For such a legendary combination, both of whom were arguably at the peak of their creative powers following Best Picture wins, mainstream audiences are unfortunately oblivious to A Perfect World, one of the best movies of their respective filmographies. It was both a perfect continuation of Eastwood’s thematic wranglings on justice and personal reformation displayed in Unforgiven and a stark left-turn to make A Perfect World, as it is a deeply philosophical road-trip film lacking theatrical flair or catharsis associated with the genre. Eastwood planned on staying behind the camera and letting Costner be the lone leading man, but the Dances With Wolves star had other plans.

Clint Eastwood’s ‘A Perfect World’ Is a Soulful Road Thriller
Image via Warner Bros.

Winning Best Director and Best Picture gives an artist plenty of leeway with studios, often leading to daring creative choices by directors earning the coveted prize. Eastwood, whose previous film ostensibly ended the Western and represented a capstone to a legendary career, continued to work steadily for 30 years, miraculously releasing a film, Juror #2, at 93 years old in 2024. A Perfect World is not as confrontational or psychologically distressing as Unforgiven, but it is equally probing and reflective of masculine ideals and the thin line between heroic guardianship and outlaw criminality. The 1993 film follows an escaped prisoner, Butch Haynes (Costner), who takes Phillip (T.J. Lowther), a sheltered young boy raised in a Jehovah’s Witness family, hostage as he evades the pursuit of a veteran Texas Ranger, Red Garnett (Eastwood).

On paper, A Perfect World reads like your basic cat-and-mouse thriller. Even Butch and Red think the narrative stakes of the film are rudimentary. Along his journey through the open road, Butch realizes he has more in common with this reclusive, monosyllabic boy. Red first thinks this is a cut-and-dry manhunt. Due to consultation from a criminal psychologist, Sally Gerber (Laura Dern), who identifies that this is no ordinary pursuit, he gradually accepts that this case represents a new breed of crime that is more complex than the usual rodeo of cops and robbers. Butch and Phillip’s encounter may have been coincidental, but these disparate figures — both lonely, misguided souls — are products of neglect by their fathers. He aspires to become a surrogate father to Phillip, teaching him how to come of age by adopting his outlaw mindset that led to his lifelong devotion to being a career.

Kevin Costner Insisted That Clint Eastwood Star Alongside Him in ‘A Perfect World’

A Perfect World, written by future Blind Side director John Lee Hancock, initially began as a Steven Spielberg project, but once he dropped out to pursue Jurassic Park, an enticing opportunity opened for Eastwood. Now in his 60s, Eastwood’s priorities shifted to directing, and he sought to cut down on his screen time in his later years. Eastwood told the Los Angeles Times in 1993 that serving double duty had grown to be a “headache,” as he invoked age and burn-out from shooting In the Line of Fire as the reason why he turned down the role of the Butch. Luckily, Eastwood appeased both his disinterest in acting and Warner Bros.’ desire to cast a bankable star to sell this not-so-commercial film when he got Kevin Costner to hop on board.

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However, A Perfect World still contained a missing piece, at least in Costner’s mind. “Kevin really wanted Clint to be in the movie with him,” producer Mark Johnson told the LA Times. According to Johnson, Costner, known for meddling with a film’s creative vision as an actor (as seen during the chaotic production of Waterworld), revised the script with Hancock, where they enhanced the Red Garnett character. With Red now an active character entangled with the main narrative arc, Eastwood had a change of heart and agreed to play the ranger. In his revisionist stage, Eastwood was drawn to Red as a juxtaposition to the familiar batch of cops and cowboys he’d played prior. “At this stage in my life, I’ve done all that,” he said in 1993, noting that he’s best served playing more cerebral characters who aren’t shooting first and inquiring later.

Without Clint Eastwood’s stirring on-screen gravitas, A Perfect World would have felt hollow. The Costner-advised rewrite saw the addition of a background detail surrounding Red, where he pressured the judge to give Butch a harsh sentence for a petty crime. The judge followed through, and Butch rotted in jail before finally escaping. Prison did not reform Butch, and now Red is on the road chasing after Butch, a symbol of his abuse of power and the failure of the prison system. Eastwood, an emblem of crime and punishment, brings an invaluable amount of thematic weight to his roles — even when he’s reluctant to act in the first place.

Your changes have been saved A Perfect World A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor, an escaped convict on the run from the law, while the search for him continues.Release Date November 24, 1993 Runtime 138 mins

A Perfect World is available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.

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