I so wanted to like this film as I am a big Bird and an Eastwood fan. I found the film disjointed but felt it never really found it’s focus.
There is a logical and expected concentration on the music , of course, but it misses the mark on the story and bio part. Jumping back and forth from the present to the past, I had a hard time finding any part of the storyline- or the lack thereof- to sink my teeth into. Parker had a fascinating , albeit, short life that the film virtually ignored. Too much music…not enough story.
The acting was “uncomfortable” and confusing as it seemed the characters were acting and reacting to things we (the audience) were not aware of or had knowledge about. Forest Whitaker seemed to wander aimlessly from scene to scene not really knowing what the scene was about. Diane Verona was suffering from the same lack of direction. She would be oddly trance like at one moment and then acting like a teenager playing grown up the next.
Scenes move from one unidentified locale to the next, from one year to another with no guidepost for the audience to follow. I wasn’t sure what was happening when.
I feel like the movie was edited REALLY poorly and half the storyline somehow ended up on the cutting room floor, and the production was hoping the music and score would be enough to patch it all together, but never does.
Very disappointing because I really wanted to like this one.