RICHARD JEWELL: The Best Of Clint Eastwood’s Heroism Trilogy

At eighty-nine years of age, Clint Eastwood is showing no signs of slowing down. In this decade alone, the filmmaker has released eight films, finding his characteristically steely resolve churning out features with extreme workmanlike efficiency. Most recently, Eastwood has demonstrated a proclivity for underlining true stories of commendable acts of heroism in American history.

First, there was 2016’s Sully, which documented airline pilot Chelsey Sullenberger’s fated flight over the Hudson River in New York, one that resulted in an emergency water landing that saved all 155 lives onboard. Then, 2018 brought us The 15:17 to Paris, which detailed the bravery of three American soldiers who stopped a would-be terrorist from committing an unspeakable act of horror on a speeding Thalys train in Europe.

For his latest feature, Eastwood turns to the bombing of the 1996 Summer Olympics, and the one security guard caught in the center of it all. Richard Jewell catalogues this man’s swift rise as a hero and swift fall as a potential suspect in the incident, examining the investigation that took place as he is railroaded by an unforgiving system after trying to Do The Right Thing. It’s a relevant, emotional work from the storied filmmaker’s career, and it’s also one of the strongest films he’s made in quite some time.

From Hero to Outcast

When we’re first introduced to Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser), it’s 1986, and he’s toiling away at a menial office clerk job in a public law firm. Essentially viewed as a workplace pariah for his sloven appearance, he does form a special bond with attorney Watson Bryan (Sam Rockwell), sowing the seeds of a partnership that would bear fruit in a decade’s time. Knowing that he’s destined for greater things, Jewell aspires to have a career in law enforcement, leaving behind office work to pursue his dreams.

Cut to 1996, and Jewell is being let go from a campus security job for his abuse of power. Unwilling to let this deter him, Jewell happily picks up a gig working security at the Atlanta Summer Olympics, hoping to apply his unwavering sense of justice by keeping drunken audience attendees in check. When a suspicious backpack is discovered at Jewell’s post, the worst is confirmed to be true when it’s found to contain three enormous pipe bombs.

Jewell immediately begins clearing the area when the unimaginable happens, leaving over a hundred people injured. Jewell is immediately showered with praise for his actions, not least of which come from Bobi Jewell (Kathy Bates), his proud mother. But when the FBI, including Agents Tom Shaw (Jon Hamm) and Dan Bennett (Ian Gomez), begin investigating the bombing, they find that Jewell fits the profile of a lone bomber, especially after being unable to identify any potential suspects. When word gets out to the press that Jewell has become suspect number one, his world is instantly ruined, finding the security guard desperately turning to attorney Watson for legal assistance during this urgent time of need.

Adapting a screenplay by Billy Ray, who has in turn based the story on the 1997 Vanity Fair article “American Tragedy: The Ballad of Richard Jewell” by Marie Brenner, Eastwood has several ingredients for a compelling biopic, the most fascinating of which is Jewell himself. A deeply flawed man with a strict sense of justice and deep-rooted respect for authority, Eastwood makes no attempt to paint over any of his faults, presenting an earnest portrait of a man who took his shortcomings in stride.

The Origins of Cancel Culture

With social media as prevalent as it is today, cancel culture has become the norm for public acts of judgement, resulting in online mobs and crucifixions against any celebrity or notable figure who has been exposed for committing something even remotely appalling. It’s interesting to correlate this to Richard Jewell, which predates cancel culture by over two decades, but the overall notion remains the same.

In the film, Jewell enjoys a brief spot in the limelight for his act of heroism, assuring the press he was simply doing his job. But as the FBI investigation rapidly unfolds, Jewell is soon targeted by all sides, seeing his apartment hounded by swarms of reporters and raided by bureau agents for evidence. The FBI in particular are depicted as particularly duplicitous, attempting to coerce Jewell into signing false confessions or leave recordings of a 911 call to implicate himself in a crime he did not commit.

As the title character, Paul Walter Hauser is nothing short of outstanding as Jewell. Deftly balancing an honorable moral compass with a vague sense of obliviousness, Richard Jewell is at its best watching Hauser feel out the flaws in his character, often contradicting his lawyer’s instructions to uphold his reverence for the uncompromising authorities out to nail him to the wall. It’s a performance of incredible nuance, never tipping Jewell over to either the side of bumbling fool or sad-eyed puppy dog.

As the attorney crusading for Jewell’s absolution, Rockwell is equally fantastic, delivering what must be his best work in years (his partner in the film, played by Nina Arianda, also gets a few choice moments of empathy and warmth on her own). Rockwell is also matched well by Hamm, offered with a rare chance to sink his teeth into such an antagonistic role. Also strong is Bates, who gives a remarkable supporting turn as Jewell’s distressed mother.

As has been reported virtually everywhere else, there is one egregious element of Richard Jewell that does not work, and it threatens to bring the entire proceedings crashing down. That element arrives in the form of Olivia Wilde as Atlanta-Journal Constitution journalist Kathy Scruggs. An overtly-cartoonish character, Scruggs is depicted as the obnoxious, attention-seeking reporter who is responsible for ruining Jewell’s life after (incredulously) soliciting sex from FBI agents in exchange for a scoop, not helped in part by Wilde’s abrasive performance. The actor and character are a major thorn in the film’s side.

Richard Jewell: Conclusion

Fortunately, Richard Jewell survives this severe miscalculation, building towards a quietly powerful denouement that sees the end of Jewell’s investigation, followed by a staggering moment of emotional catharsis. Eastwood guides everything to a safe landing, and while the celebration from the real-life Jewell was cut mercilessly short (in reality, he died from heart failure in 2007), the story is no less a potent one, especially in these media-centric times we live in, where character is everything.

What do you think? Does the story of Richard Jewell have something important to say about today’s media landscape? 

Richard Jewell was released in theaters the U.S. on December 13, 2019, and will be released in the U.K. on January 31, 2020.