By John Mulderig
NEW YORK (CNS) — “Richard Jewell” (Warner Bros.) is director Clint Eastwood’s sympathetic profile of the titular security guard (Paul Walter Hauser) who, as many will remember, was caught up in a media firestorm in the wake of the explosion of three pipe bombs in Atlanta’s Centennial Park while the Georgia capital was hosting the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Drawing on the book “The Suspect” by Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen and Marie Brenner’s article “American Nightmare: The Ballad of Richard Jewell,” Eastwood recounts how Jewell underwent what must be one of the most startling reversals of fortune in recent history. Originally, he was celebrated as a hero for spotting the bombs and initiating an evacuation before they went off, thereby saving many lives.
But Jewell was swiftly transformed into a villain in the public mind when The Atlanta Journal-Constitution revealed that he was a suspect in the case. According to Billy Ray’s screenplay, this came about when FBI agent Tom Shaw (Jon Hamm) leaked that information to reporter Kathy Scruggs (Olivia Wilde) in exchange for casual sex. The movie’s presentation of these events is disputed by many.
Dogged by Shaw, who’s convinced of his guilt, and by a relentless mob of journalists led by Scruggs, who’s obviously out for a sensational story at any cost, Jewell turns for help to his former boss, maverick attorney Watson Bryant (charismatic Sam Rockwell).
The canny, hard-bitten lawyer and his naive client make for an interesting odd couple and Kathy Bates is in fine form as Jewell’s doting mother, Bobi. But the seamy subplot linking Shaw and Scruggs, though handled discreetly, makes this best for grown-ups. All the more so when taken together with the salty language that regularly spices the dialogue.
In the end, law enforcement officials found that their case against Jewell was too flimsy to bring to court. And he was completely exonerated when right-wing extremist Eric Rudolph subsequently confessed to the crime. But what he had to endure in the meantime is well captured in this cautionary tale about the authorities and the press running amok. His sad story makes for fairly gripping drama.
The film contains an implied nonmarital encounter, brief violence, mature references including to homosexuality, about a dozen uses of profanity, and frequent rough and crude language. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
Mulderig is on the staff of Catholic News Service.