Undoubtedly, radical new attitudes on love and relationships shook the foundations of the traditional, nuclear family and the set role of a woman as a domestic, whose success depended on their unwavering loyalty to cater to one man. But this level of devotion does not always mean a happily ever after.
It assuredly does not go down that way in Clint Eastwood’s 1971 directorial debut Play Misty for Me. Given the timing of the movie’s release and its notable celebration of hippie culture in the immediate aftermath of the free love era, Play Misty for Me functions as an antithetical to the exploitation films of the time that demonized the participants in the free love movement.
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While Dave is no stranger to persistent offerings of female companionship, he finds himself increasingly hung up on his groovy ex Tobie (Donna Mills), an artist enjoying her own era of independence in alignment with the hippie ethos. Even though Dave does not say no to a fling, it is clear that he does not obligate Tobie to reject similar behaviors in his favor.
In this way, Dave and Tobie’s simmering romance models the shifting nature of relationships that was becoming more commonplace in the wake of the free love movement. Instead of condemning this relationship, the narrative gives their open-ended dynamic credibility, and fingers the possessive Evelyn as the true offender. Tobie herself admits that she spent time away from Dave because she was becoming “one of her most unfavorite people: a jealous woman”. Enter, a jealous woman: Evelyn.
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Evelyn’s brand of romantic obsession is nightmare fuel for those who adopted a lifestyle influenced by free love in the wake of the 60s. Jessica Walters as Evelyn is unnerving perfection; flipping from a wide-eyed damsel to a rabid psychotic like the switch of an electric chair. Dave time and time again attempts to shake off Evelyn, which only makes her more steadfast in her pursuit to lock him down.
She preys on Dave’s restless spirit and growing inclination to settle down. Evelyn is an imposing introduction to this domestic life: smothering Dave with love and attention, while making sure he is well-bedded and well-fed, even stocking Dave’s fridge and fixing him lunch after just one night together. Evelyn eagerly accepts a role akin to a caretaker or housewife, and embarks on a murderous odyssey to eliminate the women in Dave’s life who could fulfill that role, i.e. Tobie and even Dave’s housekeeper Birdie (Clarice Taylor).
Creating anxiety around the concept of traditional gender roles is just one way Play Misty for Me underscores the liberating aspects of counterculture. There are visual markers throughout the film that celebrate the lingering hallmarks of the hippie generation: from a crunchy love scene between Dave and Tobie under waterfalls and among the clover in the arms of Mother Nature, right down to a gratuitous documentary-style feature of the Monterey Jazz Festival, calling to mind 1970’s Gimme Shelter, but with more bass lines and fewer fatalities.
Eastwood’s cult classic continues to be impactful to this day as a bookend to an era of exploitative movies that characterized participants in counterculture as acid-soaked and morally bankrupt hedonists. Supported by a narrative that held up a mirror to a sea change in gender roles, the film effectively captures the lingering aftereffects of a cultural and social revolution and helped fire up Eastwood’s next era as a big-time, Oscar-winning director.