Le cas Richard Jewell

I always wonder why some directors make crap movies and others make great movies. Clint Eastwood has one of the greatest portfolios of smart, intelligent, interesting and well acted films. From humble beginnings as an actor he has developed into an iconic director. You know going into the theatre that your going to see an artist at work. This story, this movie is what careers are made off. Go see it.

Eastwood has done it again, adding yet another wonderful film to what is a beyond legendary filmography. Based on the real-life story of a heroic security guard turned villain during the '66 Centennial Olympic Park bombing, we see the horrifying extent to which the media can vilify an individual, especially one as kind-hearted as Richard Jewell. So many incredible performances but Paul Walter Hauser... man oh man... his portrayal of the titular man is as deeply affecting and human as anything I've seen this year. Incredible stuff!

I have experience dealing with the Feds and found this movie incredibly compelling. So much about this movie hit home for me. Just a few examples, when the Feds came to talk to Jewell and tried to make him sign shady documents, bugging his home, the slick self-righteous agent who thinks he decides who is right and wrong, cleaning out his home supposedly looking for evidence, wasting time on easy, harmless suspects instead of finding the real criminals to boost their career. It's sad. All that time spent looking at Richard Jewell as a suspect while the real terrorist got away. They knew he was innocent, all they had to do was actually do some actual investigative, science-based investigative work instead of using confirmation bias.

Can you imagine what would have happened if Jewell didn't have access to a great lawyer or had the law enforcement background to spot the tricks the Feds were using? He would probably have been in prison until his death, which is nuts. At no point did anyone use common sense and point out that there was absolutely no evidence this guy was involved. They were looking for an easy mark.

It just shows that reform is needed drastically. I've always thought that many in American law enforcement are not educated, which leads to this sort of thing happening too often. Then you have the for-profit prison system which encourages all the corruption in the justice system to begin with.

If I had kids, I'd definitely show them this movie and point out all the things Jewell did wrong and what to do in a situation like this. It should be mandatory to show in Civics classes, TBH.

It's amazing stories like these that I wish we got more of. I'm sure there are many more like this one that would be great for film as an avenue for people to learn about.

SYNOPSIS: During the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, aspiring police officer Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser) is working as security while he stumbles across a bag carrying a bomb. While law enforcement and the media praised him as a "hero" at first, the FBI begins to aggressively investigate the life of Richard Jewell as he becomes their number one suspect.

DIRECTION: Clint Eastwood is great. I love him as a director and as an actor in most things I've seen with him, although I struggle to feel he did something no other Director could do. I'm really glad he chose this this story to put out to the world and whether it's purposeful or not, adding his name to this project will bring this story to more people. I don't want to give him too hard of a time though, because this isn't a film meant to focus around the direction. The story/writing of this film is the focal point and he still did a very good job getting it done. To add one negative I took away, there was a moment where an interview with the real Richard Jewell played on the television as his house and it through me off a bit.

WRITING: The writing in this film was very good. It is based on a true story, so the story itself is largely what captured my attention. However, there are many movies based on or inspired by true stories where the writing couldn't really capture the heart of it and that is where the beauty of the writing lies. It's always hard to know exactly how everything went down and so whether this film is very accurate or mildly accurate, I'm glad they really focused on Richard Jewell and how it affected him and his family and how he was a real trooper through this whole process. There were a couple flaws that I did find with this film. There seemed to be some arc they were going for with Olivia Wilde's character that didn't really come to a close. Then with Tom Shaw (Jon Hamm) and Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell), although their characters didn't have an arc to really be made with them, both of their parts ended quite abruptly. They were both vital to the story and the film didn't show me nor tell me anything about how either of those two continued after the fact. Well, there was a little info given about something Watson did, but nothing to do with Richard Jewell or his law firm that he had started (not a spoiler, was nothing integral to the story).

ACTING: The acting is so good in this film. I can't say it's Hamm's best nor does Wilde really get a chance to fulfill the arc of her character due to the writing, but none-the-less great actors. Then you have Kathy Bates and holy crap does she deserve a Best Supporting nom. All I hear is "of course she's great, she's Kathy Bates)... AND? I'm sorry I didn't know that when you're consistently great that you should be penalized for it or receive any less attention. I get we come to expect it, but then what's the incentive to give your all if you'll just be tossed to the side, because of your positive reputation. That's totally backwards to me. Then Nina Arianda who played Nadya was awesome! She didn't have many scenes, but her back and forth with Sam Rockwell was hilarious and wonderful. Now, lets get to Paul Walter Hauser. Wow. I'm sorry, but this man is neck-and-neck with Adam Driver for me. He has not even been nominated for a Golden Globe or SAG Award? Did they even watch the film? I mean Sam Rockwell was great in this film too, but he's another one of those "yea, but he's too good to nominate. Wouldn't be fare." Paul Walter Hauser shows so much emotion and is SO good at being a man who is holding in his anger, because he respects law enforcement too much. Then in the scenes where he breaks are just tremendous. I will be sorely disappointed if he is not nominated this year.

CONCLUSION: Richard Jewell is a great story about one of American's greatest heroes who probably didn't get enough praise for the job that he did. The story itself and Paul Walter Hauser was enough for me to really enjoy this film, unfortunately there were some flaws with the story with some of the characters and some of the writing. In the end, I would definitely recommend this film for anyone to watch. Richard Jewell is the nicest man I have never met and this is just another story to show that doesn't matter how kind and genuine you are, you'll always have someone try to tear you down.

This movie is a great wake up call about the media. I wasn't going to leave a review until I read the media outcry about the film. I believe in a strong and free media but for all the good can they do, they can also be a self-serving destructive force.

This movie nicely brings that point across without getting into politics. Perhaps if Eastwood hadn't used real names of reporters and newspapers, there might have been less media blowback. But ... it's kind of like they're getting a taste of their own medicine. So it's unfortunate that they're targeted - perhaps with some fictionalization, but you can see how they scramble and plead "unfair" when the tables are turned ... like they were with Jewell.

I remember the news reports about Richard Jewell when the bombing occurred. I only recall that he was said to have discovered something about the bombing and then he was suddenly in trouble for being the prime suspect. The impression I got was that he was a troubled person and guilty -- never heard what happened afterward and never gave it any more thought.

It was amazing to watch this movie and see the events that actually transpired. It's definitely a worthwhile movie to see because it's both captivating and based on real events. Keep in mind that like any movie, some aspects are fictionalized, but the core story isn't. It's scary and real.