"Richard Jewell"--movie review
By GreatMartin
@GreatMartin (23672)
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
December 13, 2019 5:37pm CST
Democrats and Republicans each can find something in this film to point out to each other though director Clint Eastwood sort of stacks the deck for the Conservatives. Based on a true story a viewer never knows what is true and what is imagined such as the reporter having sex with the FBI guy to get a story really true? The reporter is dead and the FBI man is really a mixture of a few people.
There is no falsehood behind the story of reporter Kathy Scruggs of the Atlantic-Journal Constitution naming Richard Jewell as the suspect in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia after he was hailed for being a hero when he found the bomb and alerted the authorities saving thousands of lives. Tom Broker, on NBC TV, also reports that Jewell is a suspect. We watch the FBI, and the media, tear apart the lives of both Jewell and his mother who he lives with.
Kathy Bates, as the mother, has two very strong scenes that would justify her being nominated for an Oscar while Sam Rockwell as the lawyer committing himself to clear Richard's name gives another one of his strong performances and Paul Walter Hauser as Richard Jewell gives a once in a lifetime performance and certainly deserves a lot of movie awards during award time!
The actors are the ones who make this movie with the screenplay Billy Ray a little too scattered and director Clint Eastwood seems to want to show that liberals don't run the movie business so we have a lot of unnecessary politics and wasted time.
I do recommend "Richard Sewell" for the aforementioned excellent performances plus what could be a realistic look at how a man's life could be ruined without substantial facts accusing him of something he hasn't done.
4 people like this
4 responses
@GreatMartin (23672)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
14 Dec 19
Kathy has one scene that rips your heart out! (Unless you don't have a heart!)
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203422)
• Nashville, Tennessee
14 Dec 19
@GreatMartin I have one, it is broken but still there.
1 person likes this
@GreatMartin (23672)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
15 Dec 19
@CarolDM Heck mine has been mended twice physically and 4 times emotionally--all that counts is that it still works!
1 person likes this
@GreatMartin (23672)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
14 Dec 19
The movie makes it seem it was the one reporter an d the FBI that falsely accused him!
1 person likes this
@GreatMartin (23672)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
15 Dec 19
@Bensen32 They picked up the first false/wrong story and ran with it.
1 person likes this
@Bensen32 (27613)
• United States
15 Dec 19
@GreatMartin From what I remember everyone was saying it was him and his face was on the TV constantly.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (180979)
• United States
13 Dec 19
I would like to see this movie, but probably won't. The main movie I want to see over the holidays is Cats. I would probably see Knives Out as well, but probably one movie is all I will get to. I have other things to use my money for.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (180979)
• United States
14 Dec 19
@GreatMartin I am not sure yet when I will be seeing it but sometime over the holidays.
1 person likes this
@GreatMartin (23672)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
14 Dec 19
@snowy22315 People make a lot of fun of the theatre production but I had a great time at it!
1 person likes this
@GreatMartin (23672)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
14 Dec 19
I'll be seeing Cats on Christmas Day!
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
14 Dec 19
Except for Bates getting a Globe nom, the film is being snubbed as expected. I view the film as Clint's point on how long fake or careless news reporting has been around as they led the charge in destroying the man while Eric Rudolph was the bomber.
1 person likes this
@GreatMartin (23672)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
14 Dec 19
I think Hollywood has run out of good stories so now there are a lot of 'based on a true story' films that you don't know what is true and what is false!
The Globe nominations (and winners) really aren't a harbinger of what is good--only 93 PRESS people make the nominations and vote on it.
Though I am backing Antonia Banderas for "Pain & Glory" I really think Hauser was extraordinary as Richard!
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
14 Dec 19
@GreatMartin The SAG noms echoed the Globes and you can pretty much pick out the Oscar noms from those lists though there are always a couple wildcards from left field. No awards not even the Oscars is a guidebook for what is good. It has always been politics and favoritism from the beginning when MGM would block vote and Walter Brennan won three straight years because the extras were allowed to vote then and they block voted Brennan to his embarrassment.
1 person likes this