Richard Jewell

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.

Any "normal person" who has ever been involved as the subject of a targeted media story can tell you reporters can be monsters. Never an apology, rarely a correction, they just move on the the next story leaving a wake of destruction.

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!

"Richard Jewell" (2019 release; 125 min.) brings the story of the suspected 1996 Atlanta bomber. As the movie opens, it is "1986 Atlanta" and Jewell is working as a supply room manager in a small law firm. He gets to know one of the lawyers,, Watson Bryant. We then go to "1996 Piedmont College" where Jewell is working as a security officer but he really sees himself as a law enforcer. Eventually, just months before the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, he is fired by Piedmont's President... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from director/producer Client Eastwood. Here he brings the story of Richard Jewell, whom you may recall was a security officer at Atlanta's Centennial Park the night a bomb attack killed 2 and wounded many more. For reasons the movie reveals in great details (but I don't want to spoil for you), Jewell becomes a "person of interest" and the frantic media jump on the story. It is frankly incredibly frightening when you put it all into context and see how a man's life gets mauled. Per the usual, Eastwood does a great job to keep the movie going forward. The all- star ensemble cast is incredible: Paul Walter Hauser IS Richard Jewell, and Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm and Olivia Wilde are equally outstanding. This movie was filmed in the Spring of this year, and now barely 6 months later, it is already in theaters.

"Richard Jewell" premiered wide this weekend, and I couldn't wait to see it. The Saturday early evening screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati was attended dismally (4 people exactly), much to my surprise. If you have any interest to see how the 1996 Atlanta bombing played out, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

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.