Sam Rockwell and Paul Walter Hauser in ‘Richard Jewell’. Photo Credit: Claire Folger
Eastwood’s ‘Richard Jewell’ is a gem
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Written by: Billy Ray, based on Marie Brenner’s magazine article
Starring: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Olivia Wilde, and Jon Hamm
“Richard Jewell” – Who is Richard Jewell?
Richard Jewell is a hero.
During the summer of 1996, Richard (Paul Walter Hauser) became – in a flash - a bona fide hero and was widely recognized across the country by anyone who picked up a local newspaper or who casually watched television in late July. During the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Ga., Richard - working as a security guard in Centennial Olympic Park - discovered a backpack filled with pipe bombs and helped evacuate the area. The bombs killed one person and injured over 100 others, but the numbers could have been much worse, if not for the quick action of Jewell and other nearby police and security officers.
Richard appreciated the national and worldwide recognition, but for someone who dreamt of becoming a police officer, the simple act of saving lives was the ultimate personal satisfaction. No, the swarming media attention was not his dream, and his life soon became a nightmare.
Richard Jewell is a villain?
He became the FBI’s prime suspect, and the mass media attention immediately and dramatically altered from a welcoming spotlight to one thousand red laser beams pointed at his head. He was innocent, but through the laws of inertia, this erroneous accusation stayed in motion, and the media exponentially increased its speed.
The history books have rightfully and thankfully written Jewell’s true story, but director Clint Eastwood decided to raise awareness with his cinematic document.
“It’s a great American tragedy that should be pointed out,” Eastwood said in November 2019 interview.
Well, Eastwood pointed to Paul Walter Hauser to play Jewell, a stroke of casting genius. Hauser burst onto the scene with his “I, Tonya” (2017) breakthrough supporting performance as Shawn Eckhardt, the infamous accomplice in the 1994 Nancy Kerrigan attack. “I, Tonya” skates between black comedy and drama, and just about every speaking moment from Hauser induces smiles or robust laughter, including Shawn’s absurd claims of working as an international counter terrorism expert. Shawn also planned the assault while munching on potato chips – without wearing a shirt - in the back seat of a moving car.
Yes, Hauser certainly leaves an impression.
Here, he plays the title role, and although Eckhardt and Jewell were both caught in white hot national scandals, Richard is the only one with altruistic, noble intensions.
In a key way, Hauser’s two performances feel like Christoph Waltz’s turns as the brilliant but sinister Col. Hans Landa in “Inglourious Basterds” (2009) and the helpful, friendly bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz in “Django Unchained” (2012). Quentin Tarantino cast Waltz as a despicable villain in the former and a warmly received hero just three years later, and this talented Austrian actor won two Oscars for his dazzling work. Hauser probably won’t win a coveted golden statue as Jewell, but he should be considered for a nomination.
He’s that good. Hauser’s Richard is a gentle loner, someone who has been bullied about his weight for years and years and has retreated to familiar, stunting comforts for solace. Aside from hoping to become a police officer, Richard is not terribly ambitious, and this current moment of national scrutiny overwhelms him. Of course, it would overwhelm anyone, but rather than repeatedly lash out and cry foul, Richard swallows these accusations like so many taunts from his off-screen past.
He cannot fight the media and FBI blitzes on his own, so he turns to his friend, a lawyer named Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell) for help. Oscar winner Rockwell is so good as an everyman coping with conflict much larger than his initial capabilities, and Watson becomes Richard’s much-needed ally. In fact, Eastwood and Hauser scoop us up so easily into the narrative, we need Watson to help Richard almost as much he does. Oscar winner Kathy Bates assists as well by dialing in a terrific performance as Richard’s mom Bobi, a woman coping with the dual roles of dutiful mom and public defender.
Hauser, Bates, Rockwell, and Eastwood all offer their support to the late Richard Jewell in this enlightening public service announcement that kindly and enthusiastically offers the answer to the question: Who is Richard Jewell?
A hero.
(3/4 stars)
Jeff – a member of the Phoenix Critics Circle – has penned film reviews since 2008, graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and is a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic. Follow Jeff and the Phoenix Film Festival on Twitter @MitchFilmCritic and @PhoenixFilmFest, respectively.
