Here's How Director Paul Schrader Really Feels About Clint Eastwood's Cry Macho

Paul Schrader is a legendary director and writer. He's famous for the screenplays he's written for Martin Scorsese, which include "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull," as well as his own films as a writer-director, which include "American Gigolo," "First Reformed," and "The Card Counter," which stars Oscar Isaac and is in theaters now. He's also famous -– or perhaps infamous –- for his Facebook account, where the outspoken 75-year-old posts unfiltered missives about culture and cinema.

His most recent attention-grabbing take posted to Facebook is his review of Clint Eastwood's "Cry Macho." Schrader is not a fan. As a matter of fact, he thinks it's an historically bad movie.

"Cry Macho" is the 91-year-old actor-director's latest film. He plays a retired Texas cowboy who goes to Mexico to bring back his former boss' son, who is heading down a bad path, including participating in cockfights with his rooster, named Macho. The film has generally received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics ,– with a "Rotten" score of 56% on Rotten Tomatoes, but Schrader really hated it.

"I can appreciate the inclination to give Clint Eastwood a pass but has an important American director made a film as bad as 'Cry Macho' since Howard Hawks' 'Man's Favorite Sport?'" Schrader wrote on Facebook. It only gets harsher from there.

Schrader went in on "Cry Macho" in a way that's rare for one filmmaker to publicly do to another, especially without being asked about it. "It fails in every area: screenwriting, lighting, locations, sets, props, wardrobe and casting," he wrote. "When, early on, Eastwood employs an under the car shot of a boot hitting the ground I thought, 'Great, he's going to riff on the stylizations of macho westerns' — but that was the last interesting composition in the film."

Schrader found the film's commentary on manhood obvious and out-of-date. "Sure, Clint is given a few cliché ridden passages about the futility of machismo but these only have value because a shrunken Dirty Harry is giving voice to them," Schrader continued. "These character insights had value thirty years ago. It was like listening to a criminal apologize to the family of his victims in hopes that the judge will cut him a lesser sentence."

Paul Schrader, in addition to being a great filmmaker, is a sharp and astute film critic.

(By the way, "Man's Favorite Sport?" is a late-career romantic comedy about fishing from Howard Hawks, the director of classics like "Bringing Up Baby," "His Girl Friday," and "The Big Sleep.")