In TRUE CRIME, based on Andrew Klavan's novel, Clint Eastwood plays Steve Everett, a capable reporter who's nearly destroyed his career with alcohol and philandering. When he's assigned to do a human interest sidebar on Frank Beechum (Isaiah Washington), who's about to be executed for murder, Everett casually looks into the .. Read more
| Starring | Clint Eastwood, Denis Leary, James Woods, Isaiah Washington |
|---|---|
| Director | Clint Eastwood |
| Genres | Thriller |
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In TRUE CRIME, based on Andrew Klavan's novel, Clint Eastwood plays Steve Everett, a capable reporter who's nearly destroyed his career with alcohol and philandering. When he's assigned to do a human interest sidebar on Frank Beechum (Isaiah Washington), who's about to be executed for murder, Everett casually looks into the crime and quickly begins to see how shaky the evidence against Beechum is. As a director, Eastwood is a confident old hand here, and before he builds up the suspense (and don't worry, he will), he takes the time to delve deep into the lives of his characters and explore the sharp contrast between the cynical Everett, who neglects his family for his job, and the circumspect Beechum, whose greatest torment is not the proximity of his own death but the trauma he's causing his loving wife and daughter. Eastwood gives a wonderfully rich performance, and his rapport with James Woods and Denis Leary, as his newspaper bosses, gives the movie a welcome comic jolt. But the scenes of Beechum's family dealing with his fate are where the movie's overwhelming power lies. Eastwood and his screenwriters pull no punches, and it's difficult to bear witness to the painful, simple truth expressed in these scenes.
| Starring | Clint Eastwood, Denis Leary, James Woods, Isaiah Washington, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Bernard Hill, Diane Venora, Michael Jeter, Mary McCormack, Michael McKean, Marissa Ribisi |
|---|---|
| Director | Clint Eastwood |
| Studio | WARNER HOME VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 2 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Thriller |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | DVD: Arabic, Bulgarian, English, Romanian |
| Released | DVD: 01 Nov 1999 Production year: 1999 |
| Format | DVD |
A predictable against-the-clock thriller is enlivened with a few deft touches of character, but not enough to lift it out of the ordinary.
"...Quietly poignant....TRUE CRIME is directed by Mr. Eastwood with righteous indignation and increasingly strong momentum..."
This is a passable if predictable film, exploring the well worn themes of justice, racial discrimination, the importance of family and that idea that one man can make a difference. It's very preachy, but one thing distracted me throughout - why does a 70 year-old Clint ask me to believe that every woman, from age 20 to 45 (no older thanks) feels unaccountably attracted to his wrinkly crinkly face and sagging body? It's not even that his character is a great success - he's a has-been alcoholic desperate for one last big story. Yet these women are supposedly falling over themselves for him. Why can't these big stars accept that there comes point where to script women less than half their age as desperately attracted to them is just embarassing? Its like Robert Redford and his vaseline screens! Ultimately its left to the rest of the cast to carry the film with any dignity, with James Woods' fast talking editor a highlight.
Thought it was another Eastwood gem! OK if you're not a fan you can pick holes in it but see through some of the cliches and it is a very well made, tense drama.
James Woods is excellent as the fast talking 'His Girl Friday' type of newspaper editor.
Only one question on this, how does the womaniser that Eastwood plays have a wife aged some 24 years younger than him!
Very enjoyable movie.