Richard Jewell’s Story is More Relevant Than Ever
At 89 years old, Clint Eastwood’s still got it. Richard Jewell is one of his finest films he directed this decade. The film tells the true story of Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser), who becomes suspect #1 of a bombing that occurs during the Atlanta Olympics of 1996. The film follows the FBI’s quest to frame Jewell for solely doing his job and the fight to clear his name.
Eastwood presents Richard Jewell as an individual with a dream, to become an officer of the law. Paul Walter Hauser is absolutely brilliant as Jewell, perfectly capturing his real-life mannerisms but also getting every single inch of his personality. He takes a job as a “security” guard at the Atlanta Olympics way too seriously. We see him, prior to the Olympics, performing his duties as a security guard way too seriously at a College Campus — like a police officer. His behavior is a quite off, especially when you see him at a shooting range being an absolutely fantastic precision shooter. The fact that he still lives with his mother (Kathy Bates) makes it even more suspicious. Truth is, Jewell is a hero. He did what he had to do to prevent the most casualties. Eastwood tells the story of Richard Jewell like it is — without any dramatizations. Just the facts: He doesn’t shy away from Jewell’s mental issues and him wanting to become a true officer of the law, which complicates things quite a bit with the FBI. Jon Hamm is perfect as the FBI dick who tries to frame Jewell for something he didn’t do, just because he fits the profile of a lone bomber and has some mental issues with wanting to be an officer of the law. It’s absolutely sad what the FBI and media did to him.
The most interesting aspect of Richard Jewell is how the film never paints him as a hero from the start. We experience his own set of problems, or as critic Armond White would put it: “Jewell is shown as annoying, even aggravating”. His annoyance is characterized heavily in the way he seemingly cooperates with the FBI, but everytime he cooperates fully, it makes him a bigger suspect. The mental innocence of Jewell is preserved when he talks to the FBI — as he believes he’s helping REAL law enforcement, “cop to cop”, but he’s actually making his REAL innocence worse. This is why Hauser is able to convey so much through his performance as Jewell — he conveys his mental innocence as someone who wants to become a hero, someone people can rely on. Through that mental innocence, the real innocence of Jewell’s act of bravery comes forward.
It’s incredible how unfair the media can be, and in this era of exageration through mainstream media, Richard Jewell is more relevant than ever. Olivia Wilde portrays Kathy Scruggs, the journalist from The Altanta Journal Constitution. Controversy aside, her role as a journalist for exposing Jewell as “Suspect #1” not only shows the hypocrisy of mainstream media who will do everything in their power to ruin one person’s life, without getting all of the facts, but the fact that Jewell is an isolated case. If there’s one “rumor” about someone, MSM can run through with it and destroy a person’s life. Look at April O’Donnell accusing Andy Signore of being a sexual predator. The Mainstream Media vilified him, painting him as a serial predator. He released a video a couple of months ago, with EVIDENCE exposing the fact that, yes, they had an affair, but the key word was a CONSENSUAL affair. O’Donnell responded with “I know MY truth” and people sided with Signore. It’s incredible how powerful the forces of Social Media and the MSM has become to destroy people. In 1996, Scruggs destroyed Richard Jewell’s life due to her article vilifying him and portraying him as the BOMBER. A media frenzy happened and everyone else ran with the story and jumped the gun, without looking at the facts. Once Sruggs realizes that he didn’t do it, it’s too late. The FBI tries to paint him as the bomber, but fails to do so. When he is exonerated, Agent Shaw (Hamm) tells him “I still think you’re guilty as shit”. Until, six years later, they find the real bomber.
Eastwood doesn’t shy away from Jewell’s flaws and humanizes him — but it’s his flaws that shows his compassionnate side. With brilliant performances from Hauser, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde and Sam Rockwell as Watson Bryant, the lawyer who will do anything to prove Jewell’s innocence. From Yves Bélanger’s dynamic cinematography to Billy Ray’s sharp and highly compelling script and its wonderful performances Eastwood is able to bring to every single actor that is in the movie, Richard Jewell is one of Clint Eastwood’s finest film, and his best of the decade. It’s incredible to see that at 89 years old, Eastwood’s still got the director’s touch and his style and taste evolves with age. He is one of the few truly great contemporary filmmakers remaining, and I’ll be glad to see another Eastwood feature at 90 and beyond if he challenges himself even more than in Richard Jewell. Give Kathy Bates the supporting Oscar. Now.
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