It took a minute for me to write this review because I wanted to get it right. Clint Eastwood directs ‘Richard Jewell,’ a biopic about a security guard who experienced a trial by media after heroically saving people from a bombing.
Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser) is a security guard who dreams of being a cop to the point of suggesting that he is a ‘law enforcement official.’ On July 27, 1996, at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, he spots a suspicious backpack. After alerting the authorities, who discover it is a bomb, he assists in the evacuation saving many lives before it explodes. At first, he is hailed as a hero and receives congratulations, especially from his mom Barbara “Bobi” Jewell (Kathy Bates). However, things change when local reporter Kathy Scruggs (Olivia Wilde) bribes FBI Agent Shaw (Jon Hamm) to drop his name as a suspect in the bombing. When Richard realizes he is a target, he contacts lawyer Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell) who begins to defend Richard with the help of his secretary Nadya (Nina Arianda) after he realizes the time-table proves that Jewell is innocent.
Eastwood is at the top of his game with directing this modern masterpiece. He does not hesitate to show the down and dirty tactics that the powers who were against Richard Jewell used to try to intimidate and frame him for a crime he did not commit. That is what this movie is about: power. The mainstream media, who has the power of print and video, that can smear a man who is, in reality, a hero.
Hauser, Bates, and Rockwell are amazing in their roles and their performances electrify the screen. You can feel the emotions of the characters at the frustration, despair, and anger as law enforcement and the press wield their power against them. Likewise, Hamm and Wilde are excellent as the two people responsible for targeting Richard. Even after they realize that they are abusing this power, they try to cover their own tracks instead of doing the right thing. These performances are top-notch and show their talent to the point where you tear up at what you are witnessing before your eyes.
The cinematography is done by Yves Bélanger, who previously worked on the Eastwood film The Mule. It is amazing and adds to the emotions of the movie. There was a particular shot when the press realizes Richard is a suspect and they surround him as he goes voluntarily with the FBI. The way the scene is shot resembles sharks surrounding their prey as he heads to his vehicle. It is a prophetic look at the trial by media Jewell will face.
Of course, the mainstream media hated this film because it highlights all of the faults of the press. Selling themselves to get the story, targeting an innocent man for ratings, spreading all kinds of sensational gossip made up by the reporters, all for their own agenda. Likewise, it shows the media’s influence on the government and how they have an almost abusive relationship, much to the detriment of the ordinary American. It is history, but also a metaphor of the social media age.
Bottom line, Richard Jewell is a modern masterpiece from Clint Eastwood. He tells the story of Richard Jewell in an inspiring way that is emotional, raw, and relevant to this era where the media have so much power to make or break a person.
PARENTAL CONCERNS: Strong foul language, Violence, Some innuendo
FAVORITE QUOTE: A little power can turn a person into a monster.
Check out the trailer below:
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me if there is a comic book, movie, or novel you would like me to review. While you are at it, check out my movie review of Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker and CS Johnson’s movie review of The Aeronauts. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more posts like this one.
Did you know my new fantasy novel “The Seven Royals: All Good Things” is now available on Barnes and Noble and Amazon? You can get your e-book copy at BookLocker.
You can find me everywhere on social media! Facebook: Author Jacob Airey | Instagram: realjacobairey| Twitter: @realJacobAirey | YouTube: StudioJake
StudioJake Media 
[…] builds top-secret materials. While the husbands are at work, Alice gossips with her friend Bunny (Olivia Wilde) and the other women in the community. One day, she witnesses her friend Margaret (KiKi Layne) […]
[…] Attenborough (Harris Dickinson) and Sheila Sim (Pearl Chanda). Scotland Yard Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) is assigned the case and forced by Commissioner Harold Scott (Tim Key) to train rookie Constable […]
[…] Big Bad Wolf (Sam Rockwell) leads a gang of thieves called the “Bad Guys” including Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Ms. […]
[…] the baby on TV. This causes tension with castmates William Frawley (J.K. Simmons) and Vivian Vance (Nina Arianda) as Lucy clashes with director Donald Glass (Christopher Denham) over the direction of an episode. […]
[…] after, however, Doc comes to call on Baby and forces him to do another heist with Bats, Buddy (Jon Hamm), and Darling (Eiza González). They’re a team of unstable and violent gangsters, disrupting […]
[…] the rest of Hollywood is churning out unoriginal, shallow, pretentious, or woke content, Clint Eastwood shows that he can outdo them. He does it with a script that was turned into a novel before […]
[…] Miller (Emma Stone) is a petty thief working with Jasper Badun (Joel Fry) and Horace Badun (Paul Walter Hauser). She engaged in crime following the death of her mother Catherine Miller (Emily Beecham). After […]
[…] sets up Silk Road, an anonymous dark net website to purchase drugs. He recruits Curtis Clark Green (Paul Walter Hauser) to help him run it. He gets noticed by disgraced DEA Agent Richard “Rick” Bowden […]
[…] Watkins (Bill Duke), and the mysterious Mr. Big (Matt Damon). Meanwhile, Detective Joe Finney (Jon Hamm) is on the trail of the document as […]
[…] has a few pacing problems and some minor issues, but I think he did a good job as director. He and Eastwood worked well together as far as making the final product. It would have been worth exploring where […]
[…] Robinson), who keeps track of his deliver personnel with the help of drone expert Michael Dozer (Paul Walter Hauser), a veteran who requires a wheelchair. Sara Garcia (Sofia Carson), Nico’s girlfriend, […]
[…] game in town this year. Not by a longshot. Avengers: Endgame should have been Best Picture (unless Richard Jewell was in there.) Now let’s be clear, Joker deserved it to compared to the others on the […]
[…] on the 2005 jukebox musical of the same name, Clint Eastwood asked for a rare rewrite of the script saying that the biopic “was missing a lot of […]
[…] he is caught in a hand-grenade explosion after he swipes one from the camp Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell). He is sent home and given small tasks by instructor Fräulein Rahm (Rebel Wilson). However, while […]
[…] other three I mentioned should be traded for Richard Jewell, The Standoff At Sparrow Creek, and Avengers: Endgame. Especially The Irishman, which does not […]
[…] plays homage to a Western or several Western films, but this one was obviously a carbon copy of the Clint Eastwood film Pale Rider. It was a little too obvious and it made it feel a bit unoriginal compared to the […]
[…] you would like me to review. While you are at it, check out my movie reviews of The Laundromat and Richard Jewell. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more posts like this […]
[…] to review. While you are at it, check out my movie review of Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker and Richard Jewell. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more posts like this […]