Review: Stars Shine on Underrated Eastwood Flick 'Breezy'

In the grand works of Clint Eastwood, there are plenty of stories about battle-hardened men defeating evil, but there are also deeply engaging narratives about generations of people clashing over their values. That isn't to say that Eastwood gracefully navigates those generational gaps every time, but his "Breezy" is the kind of delicate movie romance that plumbs the depths of social morass to reveal something enriching and, yes, very melodramatic. It's as if Douglas Sirk made a film about moral codes in disarray because of sex, yet the actual scenes of lovemaking come with an updated sexual frankness.

"Breezy" arrives on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber and their Studio Classics label with a terrific video presentation, which is probably the best the film has looked at home. Add in a thorough commentary by historian Howard S. Berger and author/screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner, and you have the essential release of one of Eastwood's most underrated films.

Breezy (Kay Lenz) is a teen-aged hippie who values her guitar and the physical beauty of nature. When she takes a ride with the wrong guy and narrowly escapes in a bougie Hollywood Hills neighborhood, she ends up in the care of a disillusioned and bitterly divorced man named Frank Harmon (William Holden). The two, despite a large age and generational gap, fall in love. But, of course, it's the kind of love that's unsustainable.

Eastwood is the kind of filmmaker that has been derided – sometimes justly, and other times not – for his conservative point of view, but he's still someone who's fascinated by the ever-changing American dream. Here, we see an aging fogie whose glass castle has kept him safe from outside influence. Women come in and out of his life, yet never stay, due to his hardened fa�ade. Of course, it's the free-spirited Breezy that finally breaks down that wall, but that doesn't happen without consequence. In Frank's world, love is transactional; therefore, their love will come with a heavy emotional cost.

All in all, "Breezy" is the kind of soft-hued, pastel-filled drama that goes down smooth and feels a bit like a daydream. Eastwood may have perfected the romantic duet later with "Bridges of Madison County," but Holden and Lenz make a terrific, lovelorn pair.

"Breezy"
Kino Lorber Blu-ray
$24.95
https://www.klstudioclassics.com/product/view/id/7180