Clint Eastwood Deconstructed the Music Biopic in This Probing, Heartbreaking Movie

Clint Eastwood is associated with many things: Westerns, pistol-wielding outlaws, true stories about scrutinized everyday heroes, and maybe even that time he talked to an empty chair. With such a storied and prolific career, his repertoire is as eclectic as any filmmaker in history, so much so that most people are oblivious to his passion for jazz music. When he's not acting or directing movies, you can often find Eastwood sitting in front of a piano. In fact, most of Eastwood's recent films have been scored by the man himself or feature his piano compositions, one of which can be heard during the end credits of Gran Torino. His soothing and inconspicuous scores represent an alternate side to the beloved movie star valorized as an icon of traditional masculinity. It seemed like an odd choice for Eastwood to direct Bird, the story of the brilliant but tortured jazz saxophonist, Charlie Parker, but his love of music, as well as his sympathy toward the burden of striking a chord between wellness and creating great art, allowed him to make his most underappreciated film.