Went to see the new Clint Eastwood directed movie Richard Jewell. Based on the tragic, stupid, and unfair story about how Jewell found the Olympic Park bomb in the 90s and then got dragged through the mud by the FBI and the press.
So, yeah, that’s the plot. Richard Jewell – who has to be the basis for Kevin James’ Paul Blart – is a security guard (and apparently ex police officer) working Centennial Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He finds a bag containing three pipe bombs and with the help of other guards, local police, and some FBI agents, helps clear the area before the bomb goes off. He’s proclaimed a hero… and then its leaked that the FBI is investigating him which leads to a media feeding frenzy. He’s declared guilty in the press and the FBI does everything they can do to pin the bombing on him.
So this movie is about the vulturous press and rush to judgement by the FBI over a guy who fits the bill for the lone bomber. It’s a true story and I remember being disgusted about it back in the 90s. But it’s also a movie by Clint Eastwood who is pretty right-wing and it’s moderately curious that he’d put out a movie vilifying the press and the FBI right now. For some curious reason.
And yet… well… the press was pretty awful to Jewell and it’s not like they are perfect today. So it’s hard to wrap your head around whether this is propaganda or just a good movie based on a true story. Or both.
With that said, the guy they got play Jewell is really good. At first it feels like he’s just being mocked as a Paul Blat rent-a-cop. But the actor and the script get enough actual legitimate feelings out of him. He’s a man who is reserved, was taught to respect authority, and wants to help the FBI… he starts as a bit of a cliche but winds up a three dimensional character. Eventually.
He’s supported by a pretty good cast includes Kathy Bates, Sam Rockwell, Jon Hamm, and Olivia Wilde. Kathy Bates does one of her best performances as his mom and should get a few nominations in my opinion. Sam Rockwell plays his very angry attorney… a man who wasn’t taught to respect authority and, indeed, thinks the worst of the government in general and the FBI in particular. He kind of is playing the Sam Rockwell character but he’s good at it and manages to work out some amusing but righteous anger.
There’s contention about whether the reporter Olivia Wilde plays (and overplays) is accurate to the events. She’s shown sleeping with the head FBI investigator to get information and that’s contested in the real world. I don’t know if that’s the case but I do know her character is a little overplayed and singled out for vilification in a Hollywood script-writing shorthand sort of way. The movie focuses so much of the blame on her it almost leaves the rest of the press off the hook. And that’s just wrong and poor movie making, in my book.
I enjoyed this movie as a reasonably accurate representation of what happened. There’s some things that are debated and that drives some reviewers to hate the movie. I think that’s short-sighted since the rest of the movie is good. Though maybe they just hate Clint Eastwood. Who knows? I think the movie works – it’s well acted, well directed, and tells a good (mostly accurate) story, regardless of the politics.
Score: 85