Jan 20

Jan 20 Richard Jewell (2019)

Director Clint Eastwood helms the true story of the late Richard Jewell. Employed as a security guard during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, Mr. Jewell, while patrolling the venue, discovers a bomb, which a short time later detonates. The explosion kills one person and injures more than a hundred others, but without early detection of the homemade device, the number and severity of casualties would have been far greater.

Initially hailed as a hero who saved lives, Mr. Jewell receives a great deal of positive coverage in the press. Because he found the bomb, though, and because he seemingly matches the general profile of a lone bomber, he also becomes one of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s prime suspects. When an FBI agent leaks that information to a journalist, the media attention shifts. Reports of the investigation into Mr. Jewell place him under intense scrutiny, by law enforcement, news organizations, and the public.

The film commences a decade prior to the Olympic bombing, where Richard Jewell meets Watson Byrant, the attorney who will later defend him against the FBI’s accusations. The story then jumps ahead to the Olympics, where Mr. Eastwood masterfully re-creates the bombing and surrounding events. The depiction of the aftermath reveals details of the injustice Mr. Jewell suffered at the hands of his accusers.

Crafted from a solid adaptation of a Vanity Fair article, with skillful direction and editing, the film delivers what it promises and more. The account of Mr. Jewell’s actions are bolstered by insights into his personality and the life he leads. Paul Walter Hauser, an actor previously seen mostly in secondary roles, stars as the title character. Mr. Hauser does a fine job, bringing not just a believability to his character, but an earnestness that reflects Mr. Jewell’s sincere appreciation for authority figures in general, and for peace officers in particular. In their supporting roles, Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, and Jon Hamm deliver rock-solid performances. The only false note comes from Olivia Wilde, whose portrayal of a win-at-all-costs journalist feels over the top.

Richard Jewell succeeds as it lays out the incident of domestic terrorism at the heart of its tale. More than that, though, it relates the engaging story of its protagonist, an average citizen whose good deed somehow manages to leave him simultaneously in the wrong place at the right time, and the right place at the wrong time. But for the audience, a seat in the theater at a showing of Richard Jewell is definitely the right place at the right time.