For once, when a person talks a lot before they kill someone – there’s a valid reason for doing so – he is trying to ameliorate himself – ameliorate the pain – absolve himself of sin – everyone ssays he’s a good guy – trying to ensure that everyone around him knows he is doing this out of principle not out of mad-doggery.

HE IS so good at his craft of making movies that when he flashes forward in time, he doesn’t even have to give us the text “Ten years later” or such.

Never insults the audience – the intelligent people he knows are the viewers of his movies, - he doens even have to give us that basic text “twenty years later” – whatever. Just flashes forward dnad goes on with the story – we instinctively know hese are the same charactes – the three boys from the opening sequence.

Testanment to the artfulness of Eastwood that he tackles such a sensitive topic as chilkd molestation in our era nad yet there’s nothing gratuitous – we all get th epoiint of what’s happening – kid is captive in a few words and images oig the kid saying “please no more – suddently image oif him running thru forest – we know he’s been kepo t and he escaped – and then th e trauma that affects this person into adulthood – his circle sof people,.

Foru main guy s- all leading men in their own right – all directors as well – shws the power of Eastwood.
Everyon committed to their roles

Laura Linney – chilling, how she supports her man and rationalizes the killing of dave – it is sick howe she rationalizeds it, but it is right at the same time – “what kind of a woman would say that about her husband?”

Even the smallest performances are fantastic