Over the last few years, Clint Eastwood has turned his directorial attention to telling true stories of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. American Sniper and Sully are solid, well-made examples. The 15:17 to Paris, not so much.
Now Eastwood has returned with another true story with the focus being on Richard Jewell.
Paul Walter Hauser stars as the titular real-life individual: A security guard at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Jewell is a man who believes in having respect for law and authority and at the beginning of the film, he’s portrayed as a guy who takes no lip from nobody while maintaining a humble demeanor.
He gets hired as a security guard for the Olympics and discovers the bomb that went off, saving lives. He’s credited as a hero until the media gets a hold of the incident and they unjustly vilify him as the prime suspect.
Jewell’s life is made a living hell, not only by the media but by the FBI who soon interrogates him. Jon Hamm costars as the chief agent leading the interrogation and Olivia Wilde is the journalist who breaks the story to the FBI.
Sam Rockwell stars as Jewell’s attorney and he advises Jewell not to say or do anything as it might make him look guilty. For instance, when the FBI comes to raid his apartment for suspicious belongings, Jewell can’t help but be cooperative in his assistance.
This doesn’t make Rockwell’s character too happy.
Perhaps the heart and emotional anchor in the story is Kathy Bates as Jewell’s fiercely loyal and devoted mother. Her life is equally a living hell with all the reporters constantly surrounding their apartment. She’s determined to prove her son’s innocence.
The performances from the supporting cast are all exceptional and we get black and white portrayals of each of the characters. There’s no in-between: Each person strongly believes that Jewell is either guilty or innocent.
As for Paul Walter Hauser, he provides a remarkable combination of depicting this man as having uncompromising conviction and an honest soul. He’s a dark horse come Oscar time. Kathy Bates is also truly convincing and she also deserves Oscar consideration for her work.
Richard Jewell is deeply absorbing, occasionally thrilling, and wonderfully acted and directed by Eastwood. This is a movie that does service to its central hero and doesn’t pull punches in terms of how he was treated and how he ultimately survived.
Grade: A-
(Rated R for language including some sexual references, and brief bloody images.)
