Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies Mar 9, 2023 3.5/5

While it’s hardly (Eastwood's) best directed film, you get good tastes of the filmmaker he would become all throughout “Misty”.

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Sean Burns Crooked Marquee Jan 28, 2023

Look, if you’re an up-and-coming actor directing a film for the first and possibly last time, why wouldn’t you devote 4.2% of the total running time to Donna Mills having sex with you under a waterfall?

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Grant Watson Fiction Machine Dec 28, 2021 6/10

The sexual politics may be terribly dated, and its portrayal of mental illness typically inaccurate, but there is a solid, old-fashioned potboiler at work here.

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Dennis Harvey 48 Hills Dec 4, 2020

Misty is a very good thriller, showing that Eastwood had absorbed a great deal from the directors he'd worked for.

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James Clay Fresh Fiction Nov 19, 2020 B+

PLAY MISTY FOR ME is a cautionary tale for those who casually choose their lovers; it's a screeching shock to the system

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Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Nov 14, 2020 3/4

A crisp and economical picture, this finds Jessica Walter delivering a truly unsettling performance.

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James Kendrick Q Network Film Desk Nov 14, 2020 3/4

Eastwood and Walter play off each other quite well; he is understated without being dull, while she chews just enough scenery to create a genuine sense of unhinged malice without becoming a cartoon.

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Terry Alan Smith Bay Area Reporter May 4, 2020

If you're going to film a mystery, once you've got the mystery rolling, you've got to keep it rolling. Play Misty for Me stops and starts and stops and starts so frequently, you get tired of adjusting.

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Tony Sloman Radio Times May 4, 2020 4/5

Eastwood's sideburns and flares lend the movie a period charm today, but its power to grip and chill remains undiminished.

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Dohoro Los Angeles Free Press Jan 9, 2020

I was pleasantly surprised.

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Fernando F. Croce CinePassion Mar 15, 2010

Clint Eastwood's first film as a director, and first investigation into the anxiety at the root of the Eastwood persona

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Jay Cocks TIME Magazine Aug 30, 2009

Eastwood displays a vigorous talent for sequences of violence and tension. He has obviously seen Psycho and Repulsion more than once, but those are excellent texts and he has learned his lessons passing well.

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Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid Jul 30, 2009

Eastwood's camera is rarely misplaced, and he shows a talent for the thriller genre worthy of a comparison to Hitchcock.

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Film4 Staff Film4 Apr 8, 2008

The star chose to cut his teeth on this small-scale movie, and the result -- although inevitably dated by its terrible clothes and period ambience -- stands up well but only as good late night television viewing.

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TV Guide Staff TV Guide Apr 8, 2008 3.5/5

Much of the credit must go to Jessica Walter for her outstanding performance which somehow manages to be chilling while at the same time sympathetic.

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Variety Staff Variety Apr 8, 2008

For that 80% of the film which constitutes the story, the structure and dialog create a mood of nervous terror which the other 20% nearly blows away.

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Dave Kehr Chicago Reader Apr 8, 2008

Clint Eastwood wisely chose a strong, simple thriller for his first film as a director, and the project is remarkable in its self-effacing dedication to getting the craft right.

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Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com Aug 24, 2007 3/5

Eastwood's imperfect debut movie is a thiller full of personality and zest.

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Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault Apr 9, 2007 B

Clint's direction is sometimes shaky but usually assured, and he gets a bold performance from Jessica Walter.

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Rob Fraser Empire Magazine Dec 30, 2006 4/5

The Man With No Name faces a whole lot of pain in Clint's thrilling directorial debut.

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