Brief Story Line
Set in 1996 during the Olympic event in Atlanta, USA, Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Heuser - Da 5 Bloods, Songbird etc) who had been living with his mother Bobi (Kathy Bates - Misery, American Horror Story TV series etc) for a while, was working as security guard at Centennial Park. When he found an unattended bag under one of the bench, he suspected the content which turned out to be a bomb and went off after Richard and other security guards & officers managed to move most of the people away.
Richard was hailed as a hero for saving the lives of many people. However the FBI led by agent Tom Shaw (Jon Hamm - Keeping Up with the Joneses, Bad Times at the El Royale etc) suspected Richard to be the one responsible as he fit the character of lone wolf. The investigation somehow was leaked & published in the newspaper by journalist Kathy Scruggs (Olivia Wilde - House TV series, Tron: Legacy etc) which made Richard & Bobi's lives became under full scrutiny by media in addition to the FBI. As things turned serious for Richard, he decided to seek the help from his old acquaintance, attorney Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell - Vice, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri etc).
So what would happen to Richard? You can find them all in this amazing movie about trial by law and media.
End of Brief Story Line
Well that was an awesome journey. For a while earlier, I thought it was going to focus on the investigation of the bombing and the revelation of the perpetrator. But after few minutes, I realized it was focusing mainly on the lives of Richard Jewell while he was being under heavy investigation by the FBI as well as being scrutinized by the media. It was quite an eye opener that during that time when social media was not having as large coverage as nowadays, even people's lives could be affected by TV and newspaper. You could imagine how it would be if this sort of thing happens now.
The movie started with the introduction of our lead character who was shown to be a mild mannered, gentle person and had always wanted to be in law enforcement but to little success. As the story continued and the bomb exploded, I could not help but symphatize with Richard Jewell who was hailed as a hero only for 3 days till he became the number one suspect. During the course of the movie, all I felt was rage towards the investigators and the media. I said above that this film was based on an actual person and real events, though I think there might be some scenes that were dramatized.
Those who have been aware with the occurence at that time would probably know most of the things that happened then, but for me who had no knowledge was quite amazed by the film. Throughout the movie, I was in awe with the performance of some of the cast, in particular with Paul Walter Hauser as the titular character, Sam Rockwell (again captivated me) and obviously Kathy Bates. She was so fascinating and I was really moved by her convincing performance as the loving, caring mother of Richard. No wonder she got nominated for Best Supporting Actress in Goldel Globes as well as Academy Awards.
For this kind of movie, it would not have been interesting had it not been for good directing. It was directed by multiple award nominee and winner Clint Eastwood (Sully, American Sniper, Mystic River & many more), although he was not nominated for this movie. I guess this time his work was not considered well enough to earn great recognition. But personally for me it was still a good movie with wonderful story telling.
Overall I quite enjoyed this movie. It did not feel boring or really really heavy like most critically acclaimed films and I even felt 129 minutes was not overly long. I love how it gave me a satisfaction feeling at the end and I also like the characters and especially symphatize with Richard Jewell. Before the closing credits, just like any other movie based on true events, there were some information on the real persons though there were no photos of the actual people (which I thought would have been a nice touch). So if you are into this kind of movie of real events with good performance from the actors/actresses, I thought it will be a wonderful option.
Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars
PS: It was mentioned in the movie that it was based on American Nightmare: The Ballad of Richard Jewell by Marie Brenner and The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle by Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen
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