Richard Jewell

Richard Jewell is the kind of character only the USA seems capable of producing. What’s worse is how the American secret service, whether knowingly or not, fuels the paranoia of conspiracy theorists and eccentrics with their public actions. It's no surprise that the average American might trust wild theories over the government’s official stance. Clint Eastwood has once again found a brilliant story and directed it with the kind of craftsmanship that's hard to fault. From the gripping atmosphere to the stellar performances, everything hits the mark. Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, and Jon Hamm all deliver outstanding work. I’d mention Olivia Wilde too, but she’s barely in it, which is a shame. Richard Jewell is a solid piece of classic American filmmaking—something we’re seeing less of these days. (24/01/2021)

Richard Jewell is perfectly executed moviemaking made under a steady hand, just as we like it from an eighty-nine-year-old Eastwood. The plot is unsurprising, in fact, you can predict at the beginning how it will necessarily turn out, but it's not about that at all; Clint Eastwood can tell a human story on the screen for more than two hours, and you just don't want to take your eyes off it. Richard Jewell is a dreaming dolt and makes some huge mistakes every so often but has his heart in the right place and will definitely win the hearts of the audience, too. Paul Walter Hauser as Richard Jewell and Sam Rockwell’s predatory lawyer make a captivating duo on screen. (23/01/2020)

For me personally, Clint Eastwood is a safe bet. I’ve always liked him as an actor, and even when he started directing, he hasn't let me down. I enjoyed this film for its great direction, quality screenplay and very good acting performances (especially Sam Rockwell in the role of a serious lawyer). Most importantly, it was another portrayal of the typically American witch hunt. (13/08/2020)

Richard Jewell is well made biographical drama that captivates the viewer especially with its strong subject matter and convincing performances by the main characters, led by the solid Paul Walter Hauser, the sharp Kathy Bates and the brilliant Sam Rockwell. It never ceases to amaze me that Clint Eastwood, at such an advanced age, can still make a film with a coherent story and an unforced build-up of events that shook the public nearly twenty-five years ago. I really bow down to him! In the case of the main character, the saying "beg for mercy" applies doubly, and it's really crazy how a person's life can change from hero to villain at the snap of a finger. Despite the slower pace, the film is told in such an engaging way that the two hours in the cinema go by like nothing. A quality cinematic experience guaranteed! (20/01/2020)

If you don't live to see the cinematic immortalization of your professional activities, you may end up an unlikely incel hero against whom the whole world conspires, or an incompetent journalistic whore who gets to her sources through the bedroom and realizes only too late what a bitch she was. It plays into Eastwood's hands that he's one of the truly last representatives of pure Republican thought in high Hollywood, so he makes Richard Jewell look refreshingly bizarre. In fact, he uses the same methods of building sympathy as any liberal biopic, but applies them to a character of the type who waits until 10:01 pm to call the cops that there are two people smoking down the street outside the pub. By looking at the protagonist through the veil of his own sympathies and ignoring his more than one problematic trait, he makes Jewell a funny harmless cartoon character, revolving in the twists and turns of a classic movie monument, and it's fun to see how it doesn’t work for the old man anymore. (15/04/2020)