Clint Eastwood’s steady handle as a filmmaker of soft touch and clear vision makes Cry Macho a quietly effective and surprisingly tender drama, although his advanced age and fragile presence on-screen does raise concerns.

At the age of 91, there doesn’t seem to be any indication that Clint Eastwood will stop making films. Cry Macho continues Eastwood’s legendary prolific pace as a no fuss filmmaker with an economic approach to the craft.

Cry Macho is another strong release from Eastwood, yet one with a caveat in the form of Eastwood’s screen presence, which is as startling as it is dependent. That grit is there as well as that mischievous twinkle in his eye. Yet father time waits for no-one, even screen legends, and at 91-years-old time has caught up to Eastwood the actor. However, Eastwood the filmmaker still proves there is much left in the tank.

Eastwood stars as Mike, a former rodeo star turned horse trainer, whose deaths of his wife and son has turned him into an especially cantankerous cowboy. When his boss Howard (Dwight Yoakam) asks Mike to travel to Mexico in search of Howard’s estranged teenage son Rafael (Eduardo Minett), Mike agrees only to find young Rafael is way more trouble than he bargained for, resulting in both the police and Rafael’s hellbent mother (Fernando Urrejola) on their trail.

Cry Macho has a strong sense of familiarity to previous Eastwood films Gran Torino and The Mule in theme and setting (respectfully), especially regarding the role of male mentorship. While Gran Torino especially has a hard edge, there is a tenderness to Cry Macho that is surprising. Eastwood’s “get off my lawn” personality has become a parody within itself, yet in Cry Macho Eastwood radiates a low-key gentleness reminiscent of his cruisy jazz piano compositions.

Newcomer Eduardo Minett compliments with a tough talking wide eyed naivety, holding onto his rooster named “Macho” while espousing his manly worldview, a notion that Eastwood knocks down with the right amount of grimace and wisdom. The message is to be strong and reliable as a man, yes, but not to the point of cocky foolishness.

Filmed in New Mexico, the scenery is beautifully captured by Ben Davis (Doctor Strange) and is the perfect backdrop to a story about an old cowboy who finds a new lease on life. Eastwood may be shuffling into the sunset, but he does so with a swagger that is all his own.