Richard Jewell (Review)
Richard Jewell is the Story of a Hero Who Became a Victim.
On the surface, Richard Jewell seems like a film trying to honor a man who did the right thing and suffered needlessly for it. However, it’s more of a cautionary tale about two of the most powerful organizations in the world, the US government and the media, and how much damage they can do when they set their minds to it. More than that, it’s about the vicious reactionary cycle they can begin when one leads the other down the wrong path. Needless to say, it doesn’t paint either of those parties in a flattering light, and I find it interesting that many critics that work in the media are condemning Richard Jewell for its unfair portrayal. The fact is that both parties screwed up royally and neither one had the courage to admit it.
Richard Jewell tells the tale of the terrorist attack in Centennial Park during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. At the center of it is the titular character (played by Paul Walter Hauser), a security guard who discovered the backpack containing the bomb and helped warn police as well as helped evacuate the area. Initially (and rightfully) declared a hero, the world quickly turns on him when an FBI agent (John Hamm) desperate for a suspect, leaks information to a reporter (Olivia Wilde) desperate for a story. The two quickly set the wheels in motion that tear Jewell’s life apart as he is suddenly declared suspect number one. As the government and media descend like vultures, Jewell is forced into hiding in his home with his mother (Kathy Bates) as they are crushed by the uncaring cogs in the machine. Luckily, they have a lawyer (Sam Rockwell) that believes in Jewell’s innocence even when the rest of the world declares him guilty without trial.
While this film is based on real events that took place in 1996 that lead to the persecution in the public eye of Richard Jewell, it is still a fictionalized telling of them. Most notably, one part of the film has come under fire in which it is suggested that reported Kathy Scruggs traded sexual favors for a tip that lead to her starting the media circus. While this might not be true, I see the relationship between Hamm and Wilde’s characters as a metaphor for the quid pro quo relationship between the media and the government. Both sides essentially “jumped into bed together” when they turned on Jewell. It’s a gross idea because what both sides did is disgusting. Both Wilde and Hamm’s characters soon became so focused on not being wrong that they no longer cared about being right. There is no getting around the fact that both the media and the government were absolutely wrong when it came to their portrayal of Jewell, and director Clint Eastwood attacks them mercilessly for it. They are the villains in the movie because they were the villains in the real events it is based on.
With that out of the way, I can focus on the rest of Richard Jewell. The film is filled with incredible performances, especially from Hauser (who you might remember from I, Tonya). His character is portrayed as a loveable doofus in the movie. At a glance, he does fit the profile of a lone bomber, and it’s easy to find him off-putting initially with how desperately he wants to be liked. It soon becomes clear that he’s actually an observant, thoughtful, and diligent man, who’s heart is in the right place but is just terrible at getting that across. While the entire cast is tremendous, Hauser is incredible as he tries to keep it together and keep up those good old Southern manners that taught him to be respectful to those around him. Even as he’s thrown to the wolves, he continues to call those same wolves “sir” and “ma’am.” The film follows him as he is pushed towards the breaking point, and while we all expect him to snap, he never gives in to it and instead simply starts standing up for himself.
It’s hard not to have a visceral reaction to Richard Jewell given the film’s subject matter. Eastwood moves the plot along at a fervent pace, but never without reason. He has to get past the initial horror of the bombing in order to focus on the horror that follows for one man. Both Hamm and Wilde play a huge part when it comes to making their characters as dislikable as possible and their performances are horrendous in the best possible way. Both of them enable Hauser and Rockwell to be the heroes of the film as they represent the worst in two institutions that so many of us want to trust and believe in. Jewell is very much the little man in this film, and this is portrayed through an intimate circle of those he trusts contained within the tiny walls of the apartment he shares with his mother. While it might be a lovely home for the two of them, it quickly becomes claustrophobic as it reflects the crushing feeling he experiences at the hands of his attackers.
Richard Jewell is a powerful film. It might oversimplify events and take some liberties with the “facts” (like the media and FBI did at the time). That doesn’t mean that the points it makes are wrong. It’s an unflattering look at the government and at the media, because both are supposed to be held to a higher standard they so rarely meet. Beyond that, the performances are filled with emotion and inspire those same emotions in the audience thanks to the incredible cast. While Eastwood might have personal political views I personally don’t agree with, he is still a talented filmmaker and a potent storyteller. Richard Jewell is a film that might inspire outrage, because it is outrageous what happened to a man who is, by all accounts, a hero for his actions on that day.
