Review: Richard Jewell

Paul Walter Houser stars as the title character, a well-meaning but over-zealous, overly eager former University campus security guard hired to do security at the 1996 Atlantic Summer Olympic Games. When a stray package arouses Richard’s suspicions, he attempts to evacuate the outdoor Olympic Games-related concert. It indeed turns out to be an explosive device. Although two people die and many are injured, Houser saves thousands of lives. However, it’s not long before the FBI (headed by Jon Hamm) zero in on a prime suspect: Richard Jewell, and start to ruin the man’s life. Also not helping poor Richard is his being demonised in the media, particularly by opportunistic Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Kathy Scruggs (Olivia Wilde). Kathy Bates plays Richard’s fiercely loyal mother (who lives with him), whilst Sam Rockwell plays Jewell’s attorney whom Richard met when he worked briefly in supplies at Rockwell’s former law firm.

 

Filmmaker-actor Clint Eastwood (whose directorial efforts include “Play Misty for Me”, “White Hunter, Black Heart”, and “Million Dollar Baby”) clearly has a thing about real-life heroes and heroism, and is clearly pissed off that the heroism of one Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Houser) was ever called into question. This 2019 true story from the enduring director makes for a pretty damn convincing argument in Mr. Jewell’s favour, despite Clint and screenwriter Billy Ray (writer-director of “Shattered Glass” and “Breach”, also true stories) showing Jewell as the flawed and over-zealous man he seemingly was. It’s a shame the filmmakers didn’t apply the same fairness to the late Kathy Scruggs, because it would’ve made for an even stronger film. More on that later, because this is actually quite a solid, interesting film that’ll likely make you really mad about what happened to poor Mr. Jewell. It’s a nice directorial bounce-back for Eastwood after the watchable but mild trio of “Sully”, “Hereafter”, and “Jersey Boys”, and the straight-up disappointing foursome of “American Sniper”, “J. Edgar”, “The 15:17 to Paris”, and “The Mule”.

 

As I said, Ray and Eastwood present Jewell in a warts-and-all kind of way, where he’s a boring, insignificant guy who clearly wanted to be a hero and perhaps took a little too much liking to wielding a not-quite big stick. At first, you could see Jewell being either innocent or guilty, based on his over-zealousness. He’s so laser-focused on being a law-enforcing hero, it’s not all that difficult to see how he ended up being under suspicion by the Feds. Hell, it’s not hard to see that he might’ve had an axe to grind, too. Portrayed perfectly by Paul Walter Houser however, the more we get to spend with Mr. Jewell, the more you realise he’s a nice, well-meaning guy who just doesn’t see how he comes across to other people sometimes. Houser expertly shows off Jewell’s frankly irritating side, but not to the point where we don’t like him. He might have the signs of the typical criminal who tries to look like the hero, but Houser gives Jewell an innate likeability and enough sincerity that you’re pretty sure he’s just a little too eager to help and not a domestic terrorist. At this point in time it’s inarguable that Richard Jewell was an American hero and that the FBI fucked up by not properly looking into other possible suspects.

 

Also immediately perfect is an Academy Award nominated Kathy Bates as Jewell’s loving, if slightly naïve mother. Bates doesn’t have a 100% spotless record as an actress, but damn is she terrific in most films and she’s damn terrific here. Sam Rockwell is immediately amusing here as the only lawyer Richard knows, and one who is a lot shrewder than he first looks/seems. Remember when Rockwell was best known as the shit-eating creep in “The Green Mile”? The man is extremely versatile. Olivia Wilde – and Eastwood for that matter – came under a lot of fire for the portrayal of journalist Kathy Scruggs here as someone willing to sleep with someone in order to get a big scoop. All I can say is that nothing about Wilde’s performance convinced me in the slightest. Wilde gives a clichéd, caricatured ‘wearing a push-up bra and saying fuck a lot to portray toughness’ performance right out of the Julia Roberts wins an Oscar playbook (Seriously, one of Oscar’s worst decisions ever). It’s a lazy performance well beneath Wilde’s talents and usual standard, I must say, but I don’t blame her actually. It’s the script. I know a caricature when I see one, and that’s what screenwriter Ray has given her, so she acts accordingly. Whether the claims of character assassination are true or not I cannot say, but I can certainly say that the film would’ve been stronger if the Scruggs character were better – perhaps more honestly – written and portrayed. Jon Hamm didn’t impress me terribly much either, but I’ve never liked him so I don’t think it’s just his hissable caricatured federal agent character, but also just that Hamm isn’t very good. It’s a shame, because the rest of the film is pretty damn convincing. Wilde’s Scruggs and Hamm are characters in a movie, whereas the rest feels more real.

 

I get Eastwood’s point here. He and Ray aren’t just hating on journalists and law enforcement, they’re driving home the point that they made a very common mistake in these sorts of matters: Fixating on one particular suspect and sticking to it, even when it becomes pretty damn clear that they got it wrong and should’ve moved on to other suspects. An overplayed/exaggerated portrayal or not, it’s still shameful that poor Richard got railroaded. I fully understand the anger and outrage at the federal agents here. Poor Richard got railroaded, he wasn’t savvy enough to handle a situation like this and they knew it.  By not portraying the media and law very convincingly or fairly, Eastwood and screenwriter Ray turn a potentially excellent film into a simply good one. Everything else works, and you still do get invested in Jewell’s plight. It’s just a shame that Eastwood grinds that axe a little too much. Excellent performances by Houser, Bates, and Rockwell are the chief plusses here.

 

Rating: B-