Young Tommy DeVito shouted at us, "Want to hear something real?" And his predecessor, the one in "Good Guys" who excites us in the bloody rain and wind through the voiceover, Tommy talks and laughs freely, and his dashing and charming temperament will make you think that the movie will become a sweet song. But don't forget, the film's director is Eastwood, who made "Mysterious River" and Charlie Parker's biopic "Jazz Musician", and he will not let the darkness disappear in the film. Many of the scenes at the beginning of the story are chilling, such as a gun-ending game, a safe that is thrown into the back compartment, and Tommy and his companions step by step on the road to crime. At this point, you can't help but ask: What kind of movie is Jersey Boys?
The cue appears in a night scene. Tommy and a friend are going to play a prank and ask Frankie Castrocchio to help them both look out on the sidewalk. When a patrolling policeman approached, Frankie reminded his companions in his own way, not shouting or whistling, but singing, and he maneuvered in a high pitch through the layers of walls of the abandoned streets—the kind of sounds that nightingales should have made if they had listened to Frank Sinatra too. In this episode, Eastwood asks an inescapable question: How can a person create trouble and at the same time make moving music? Frankie then changed his last name to Wallee and formed the "Four Seasons" with Tommy, Nick and Bob, and we will witness their fame rise and fall in the film.
"Jersey Boys" was originally from a lively and glamorous musical stage play, but it is so smooth and smooth that when we walk out of the theater with songs full of echoes, we can't take away the specific plot, let alone reflect on the frustrated emotions. All of these plays seem to be trying to persuade us that there is no need to sweat, that as soon as inspiration comes, you step on the guitar, you walk into the microphone, and all that's left is success. This beautiful lie also appears in Eastwood's film: we see the guys gathered next to a phone and want to pour sherry into the ears of their producer, Crewe, because he told them that he had a tape ready there; Crewe watched "Ace in the Hole" on TV and said that the charm of the heroine in the film came from "mature girls don't cry", and then Bob's face appeared with a discovery of the new world, and the idea of a new single was born at that moment.
Flashpoints like these are not hard to find in the film, but the problem is that the film itself is a mess, almost like a half-finished product. One of the screenwriters of the film was Marshall Brickman, who wrote Anne Hall with Woody Allen, but that's still the tune. To make matters worse, the rest of the film is spent with these boring contract disputes, interspersed with an uncontrolled and unnecessary review of Frankie's family life, which is confusing. The songs in between are really good, but does this movie need a director? No one knows.
The story is full of ramblings and clichés, and it all looks like it's from Clint. Eastwood's hand, a master of succinct and concise storytelling, is known for his star, Forster Whitaker, who is locked in on Charlie Parker in Jazz Musician. When Bob and Crewe co-wrote "My Eyes Can't See You" was sung for the first time at the "Rooster Tail" club in Detroit, we still couldn't help but be heartbroken.
It's here that Eastwood perfectly blends his love of music into the plot: he patiently gathers the emotions of the audience until the curtain opens behind the band, revealing a golden brass instrument, and with the high-pitched music, Frankie joins his team, and they sing "I'm You, Baby", and the audience applauds. This scene also subtly echoes the "Moonlight Serenade" passage in the biography of Glen Miller, which also stops time. Anthony Mann, the director of Glen Miller, has contributed greatly to the development of Westerns like Eastwood and has always insisted on exploring new areas. The difference is that Mann is calm, telling Miller's story steadily, and knowing that it is time to let the music speak for itself when it is time to get up, while Eastwood, who is shoulder to shoulder stage, cannot relax himself. Jersey Boys isn't without its highlights, it's just that more often than not, you tend to look away. But that's okay, because listening with your ears is also a good choice.