Richard Jewell Honors Its Main Subject Despite Questionable Intentions

      When one hears of a film project that has legendary actor/director Clint Eastwood at the helm, curiosity, enthusiasm, and excitement generally accompany that revelation as audiences tend to look forward to any projects the Oscar winning director tackles with great admiration and anticipation. Whereas Eastwood's directing resume goes back to 1971 with his directorial debut Play Misty For Me, it wasn't until 2003 where his directing resume hit its peak with acclaimed hits such as Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Flags Of Our Fathers, Letters From Iwo Jima, Changeling, Gran Tarino, Invictus, American Sniper, and Sully. One area of storytelling that Eastwood appears to have not only taken an interest in and generally succeeds at, is portraying true stories surrounding real life figures with the story of Richard Jewell being a prime example. Based on the 1997 Vanity Fair article titled "American tragedy: The Ballad Of Richard Jewell"by Marie Brenner as well as the 2019 book The Suspect by Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen, Eastwood centers the film around the Centennial Olympic Park bombing and the aftermath during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia where security guard Richard Jewell (Played brilliantly by Paul Walter Hauser), discovers a backpack containing a bomb inside it and alerts the authorities to evacuate, only to later be wrongfully accused of being the bomber himself when the bomb goes off injuring over a hundred people and killing two. With the story of Richard Jewell, Eastwood tells the story of a simple yet flawed security guard, who performed a heroic act, but later was railroaded by both the authorities and media. With the film, Eastwood explores what the presumption of innocence entails as the audience witnesses the switch from hero to villain in the public limelight through the real-life story of hero turned suspect Richard Jewell. It is a story that Eastwood simplifies, while directing it with a steady hand, allowing his actors to do most of the work while exercising his craftsmanship as an experienced filmmaker. In doing so, he ends up delivering one of the strongest films of the winter movie season despite certain aspects of it's production being questionable.

      The story for Richard Jewell focus on the events surrounding the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia where a Centennial Olympic Park security guard (Played by Paul Walter Hauser) discovers a bag containing a bomb in it that explodes in a crowded square, injuring hundreds as well as killing a few. He later becomes vilified in the media as being a domestic terrorist when questions regarding his personality and past come into question. Despite a subsequent investigation later proving that he wasn't responsible for the explosion at Centennial Park with him just doing his job, Jewell's life (As well as his mothers) is shown to be turned upside down by the event. The story of Richard Jewell is a powerful and eye-opening one that's well-told, emotionally gripping, and carries with it relevance in regards to today's climate in which the debate over what news is real and what isn't comes into question. With the film, Eastwood right off the bat shows audiences that despite Richard Jewell's well-intentions at desiring to be a law figure, he's also a flawed and imperfect person. The film focuses on two key relationships that Jewell has in the film with the first the first being that of his lawyer (played by Sam Rockwell) with their friendship being established in the opening sequence, and the second being Jewell's relationship with his mother (played by Kathy Bates) with Eastwood showing her characters slow realization of what's happening to her son in regards to both the authorities, and the media painting him as the potential suspect in the bombing. Eastwood also shows through the character of journalist Kathy Scruggs (played by Olivia Wilde in a role that became a controversial aspect of the film upon it's release), how the story leaked to the press in which the FBI was looking at Jewell as a potential suspect. As a film, Richard Jewell is a story that's well-focused, well-directed, written, and acted by its main cast with the end result being one of Eastwood's strongest directorial efforts in years with the film carrying with it a close examination about how pre-judgment and automatic assumption of one's guilt can overshadow the facts surrounding a case as pivotal as Jewell's.

      One of the strongest elements of the film lies within its acting performances from the main cast, all of which prove to be top notch. In the films title role, Paul Walter Hauser is both compelling and effective in his role of Richard Jewell, a kind yet eagar and awkward young man who holds high ambitions, that often lean towards the realm of being desperate in wanting to become an official law enforcement officer. Hauser perfectly conveys these character traits, while showing how his characters off personality can make those around him suspect that he might've had something to do with the explosion as no other suspects were named prior. Sam Rockwell does a great job as Jewell's old colleague and lawyer, Watson Bryant. Rockwell brilliantly shows his characters concern for Jewell's well-being, and fights for his innocence upon realizing that he had nothing to do with the actual bombing. He also succeeds at conveying his characters frustration at what appears to be the lack of anger that Jewell has for the FBI trying to label him as the terrorist, as well as his failure to acknowledge some of the controversial aspects of his character such as him having so many guns at his home and being knowledgeable of handling explosives and police procedures. Rockwell proves to be a terrific counterpart to Hauser's character with their characters relationship being the heart of the film with both actors boasting strong chemistry. Kathy Bates steals the show in the role of Jewell's mother Barbara Jewell. She masterfully conveys her characters shock, vulnerability, frustration, and fear in seeing her son being slowly forced into assuming the role of being the terrorist. Jon Hamm does a fine job playing FBI agent Tom Shaw, who was present at the Olympics during the bombing and is shown to be convinced that Jewell is the suspect they're looking for, mostly based off of Jewell's offbeat personality rather than the facts surrounding the case. Olivia Wilde does well playing the character of Kathy Scruggs, though her character's depiction in the story has come under heavy fire from those associated with the real Scruggs, including her own newspaper, in regards to how her character is portrayed with obtaining stories in the film by trading sexual favors for information regarding the case. Despite the questionable motives that the filmmakers have for altering real-life characters associated with the institutions that attempted to crucify Jewell, the cast is strong and all deliver fantastic performances in regards to bringing the story to life with the realism they bring through portraying their characters. Everyone here does a great job adding something to both the film, as well as the characters they're playing.

      In terms of the films directing, Eastwood once again showcases his pure craftsmanship as a filmmaker. He keeps the story straight-forward and the camera steady, allowing both the actors as well as the scenery to do the work. His directing is taut, crisp, and effective in transporting audiences back to the time period of the story taking place during the 1996 Olympics, with news clippings and music from that era being sprinkled throughout the story to help bring realism to it. The films cinematography is impressive with the score being appropriately used when key moments call for it. The film moves at a slow pace with the film clocking in at 130 minutes. While the film could've been shorted by a good twenty minutes, it also allows enough time for all the key characters to receive their proper development with the story unfolding. With Richard Jewell, Eastwood keeps the story grounded in reality and gives it a gritty approach in terms of directing. He manages to get the most out of his actors while keeping the narrative of the story relatively straight-forward with the film occasionally shifting from Jewell to Hamm and Wilde's characters conspiring to get the truth behind the Centennial bombing. While his directing effort won't win him any Oscars this award season, it still remains a strong effort and further demonstrates that despite his old age (Eastwood is 89 years old), Eastwood remains one of the strongest American filmmakers working today, as well as one who carries a firm grip over his craftsmanship as a filmmaker.

      The films screenplay by Billy Ray is where the films troubles come into play, despite presenting Jewell's case to audiences in a reasonably decent fashion. Whereas Jewell's character is handled responsibly and treated with respect, the same can't be said for Wilde's character Kathy Scruggs, whose portrayal often feels misrepresented, a bit malicious, and lazily handled with no real desire to get the actual personality accurate. It is clear upon watching the film that Eastwood has an agenda he's trying to get across with Jewell's story as he paints both the FBI agent and Scruggs as being both cartoonish and stereotypical antagonists in the film. The message that Eastwood drives home with the story, is that too much power can turn a person into a monster. The screenplay is written in a way that makes the story tense, riveting, and engrossing to the viewer, making them keep their eyes glued to the screen regardless of the films slow pacing. Both Ray and Eastwood portray Jewell as being a well-intentioned yet flawed security guard, who acted in a moment serving as the definition of true heroism, while showing him slowly coming to terms with the realization that he's being railroaded by the authorities and the media with him remaining humble throughout the whole ordeal. It's not a coincidence that Eastwood chose this film as his next project as he clearly has a statement he wants to make, that's aimed at the distortion of the facts, and showing how "fake news" can ruin a person's life if allowed to run freely. The characters played by Jon Hamm and Olivia Wilde give the distinct impression that their characters are specifically designed for the audience to despise them, given that they represent the authoritative forces in the story. Eastwood uses their characters as a way to chastise both systems of power with him making the point that both forces shouldn't be trusted and can trample over the rights of the common individual. While Eastwood's points are valid through his depiction of the crucifixion of Richard Jewell in the media, he appears to show less care towards the side characters who helped put Jewell in the situation he got forced into after the bombing. The poor depiction of Kathy Scruggs character in the story makes the film both ironic as well as feeling a bit hypocritical in itself as it demands justice for Jewell by telling his full story, but doesn't bother to get the facts right outside of Jewell's character with the film portraying both the media and the authorities as presenting a false narrative, though Eastwood does the same thing with his false presentation of Wilde's character.

      In the end, Richard Jewell serves as a flawed yet honorable biographical drama of a security guards life being turned upside down simply because he did the right thing. The heart of the story, which ultimately makes it work as an affecting drama is the relationship between Jewell and his attorney, with the film showing their relationship beginning with Jewell as a mail room clerk then showing their relationship grow over time as well as their bond. The film is as much about Jewell's friendship with his attorney as it is about his condemnation in the media. Eastwood does a very good job of generating reasonable sympathy for Jewell, while at the same time showing his imperfections. He keeps the audience engaged in his story, allowing Hauser's performance to drive the movie with Rockwell and Bates giving strong supporting roles. Despite questionable choices regarding liberties that Eastwood took with certain events and characters, he still manages to craft a powerful story about how the line between one being innocent until proven guilty becomes a blur one. The film is more about the condemnation of one man by the system with Eastwood making a point to show that both the law and the media aren't always reliable sources for seeking justice, as well as reporting news that's not always 100 percent accurate. With the film, he spares no institution with attacks directed at the FBI, the media, and a government presented in the story as being intrusive over the lives of everyday people. Given the current climate regarding the recent attacks on the media, the story feels timely in the message it's trying to get across to it's target audience. Whether it's a noble one is debatable given how Eastwood treats the side characters (He treats Jewell with the utmost compassion while showing distaste for Scruggs character), but the story itself is one that's well-told, well-acted, and masterfully directed. Whether you agree with Eastwoods motive or not, Richard Jewell still stands as being one of the strongest films to be released during the winter season with well-deserved Oscar nominations being recommended for Paul Walter Hauser and Kathy Bates. The film serves as being another low-key yet hard-hitting biographical drama centering around a person, who was unquestionably an American hero along with showing his triumph over the establishment. Eastwood thrives with these types of stories and here he proves no different, while still managing to deliver despite the films shortcomings.

Final Verdict: For fans of Clint Eastwoods directing as well as those looking for a gripping story based upon true events, Richard Jewell is worth seeing, even if some aspects of it require attention such as it's depiction of the female reporter, Kathy Scruggs.