True Crime (1999)

Sadly Over-hyped

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

"True Crime," directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, is a taut thriller that goes to the wire as Steve Everett (Eastwood), a journalist and recovering alcoholic, tries to find out what really happened that fateful day when Frank Beechum (Isaiah Washington) entered a convenience store to buy a bottle of steak sauce and wound up being convicted of murdering the store clerk. It's not a campaign born entirely of compassion, however; Everett has had a checkered career that has taken him to the top of his profession, only to have his own errors of judgment (attributed to the bottle) precipitate a swift decline that has ensconced him in a job at a large paper in the Bay area of Northern California writing personality pieces and sidebar profiles. He's not a man of tremendously high ideals or great conviction, and his moral character is somewhat ambiguous, but he demands one thing from himself and everyone else when it comes to reporting a story: The truth. In that he is adamant, and he pursues it without compromise using the one tool in his personal arsenal that has never (when he is sober) failed him, his "nose" for news, that innate sense that unfailingly leads him to that which he is seeking.At first, "True Crime" could be considered as another movie about capital punishment. Well filmed, with a good rhythm and convincing actors, this movie is the perfect movie to rent. But take a second look at "True Crime" and you won't be disappointed. This movie can be seen one, two or three times, it will still unveil a lot of goodies. One can admire how Clint Eastwood compares with subtlety the destiny of Steve Everett and Frank Beechum by using descriptions of similar situations: for example, the two little girls harassing their fathers with multiple demands at a crucial moment. Let's also observe how Clint uses a clever editing to pass from Beechum's cell to Clint's scenes: cigarettes, paintings (the green pastures) for instance are themes that bind the two destinies. Eastwood still has the nose for the truth in this good script. If you favor capital punishment, you may think it through again after seeing this film.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Steve Everett (Clint Eastwood) is a womanizing married recovering alcoholic. He returns to his journalist job at Oakland Tribune after rehab. A young reporter dies in an accident and he assigned her interview with death row inmate Frank Beechum (Isaiah Washington). Beechum was a troubled youth until he became born-again and married to Bonnie (LisaGay Hamilton). He's scheduled to be executed in a few hours for the murder of a pregnant store clerk but Everett starts to wonder about his guilt.There is a functional investigative crime mystery in this movie although the plot isn't very surprising. Clint Eastwood has filled it with too much uninteresting filler. Some of it is really cheesy. I think he wants Reverend Shillerman to be comic relief which really doesn't work. The most annoying is the Hollywood high speed chase to end the investigation. It's utterly ridiculous. Maybe he could call the governor or the prison or the wife. It's a bad attempt to make it artificially exciting.

True Crime (1999): Dir: Clint Eastwood / Cast: Clint Eastwood, Isaiah Washington, Denis Leary, Michael McKean, Lisa Gay Hamilton: Typical Clint Eastwood thriller where an innocent victim is arrested. Title regards Eastwood as a reporter and the reality he is undertaking. He is a womanizer who is well aware of his lifestyle. A female friend dies in a car accident and a story she was doing prior catches his attention. Isaiah Washington is sentenced to death by lethal injection in 24 hours for the murder of a pregnant woman. Eastwood visits the crime site and comes away believing the guy's innocence. I could have lived without the on screen needle injection. Eastwood makes everything uncertain despite its lackluster visual appeal. He is effective as a man who goes to great lengths to insure the truth. Washington is well cast as the inmate who waits for the clock to tick down. Unfortunately supporting roles are not nearly as interesting. Denis Leary has a dreary role as a co-worker whose wife was involved with Eastwood. Michael McKean plays a corrupt Priest and this will no doubt turn off religious crowds. It doesn't have as much intrigue with the locations as Absolute Power does in the White House and a two way mirror. This is not one of Eastwood's best films as is Absolute Power, but it does contain a strong theme that regards sacrifice and justice that pull through despite its recycled concept. Score: 8 / 10

Clint Eastwood has always been great at playing anti-Heroes, but this time, he went full out, playing a recovering alcoholic reporter who uses the case of a death row inmate to refurbish his career.You just don't like his character in this movie. He's a horrible husband, father and so on. He doesn't care about justice, he just cares about winning a Pulitzer. There's really nothing admirable about his character at all.Still, Clint does a good job here, and he has a great supporting cast, such as Isaiah Washington as the convict he is trying to save, or James Wood as his cynical editor. Also look for Lucy Liu as a store clerk before anyone knew who she was.I also kind of get the feeling that this role was written for a younger actor. One you could believe plausibly as the father of a six year old. The movie drags in places and is quite uncomfortable to watch in others. (Again, just about any scene with the aforementioned six year old in them.)