Joseph Gore Jr.

An excellent film I can't recommend more highly. This Clint Eastwood directed film is the quintessential story of the individual fighting against the overwhelming power of the powers that be - in this case the FBI and the media. The film begins by introducing the viewer to Richard Jewell himself, the would-be police officer who is an overweight and bumbling character who is also good hearted and well meaning. Richard accepts a series of security guard jobs - the last of which is as security for AT&T at Centennial Plaza during the Atlanta Olympics where he finds a suspicious backpack that turns out to be a bomb. Richard's efforts to alert the condescending "real" police leads to the bomb being identified and casualties being lower than they would have been. For the first time in his life, Richard Jewell has done something spectacular and is rewarded by being proclaimed a hero. From here, the story takes it's fateful turn as both FBI and the media conspire to destroy the life of an innocent man which sounds familiar in wake of recent FBI actions. The film is well directed by Eastwood and the cast is uniformly excellent in their respective roles. I must admit to tears coming to my eyes on several occasions in this film as this childlike figure is deceived and destroyed without a shred of evidence but that he fits the profile of a "white, wannabe loser who lives with his mother." If anything, the film is far too easy on the media who certainly choose who they portray as monsters depending upon their own ideology and the FBI who violate the constitutional rights of an American citizen with both impunity and rapidity. It's an excellent film because it portrays what is best - the man blessed with less in the way of talent or ability giving it his best shot with the faith it will be rewarded some day. It also portrays what is base and contemptible - the media and the FBI (both claim to be guardians of American society) who will stop at nothing to prove themselves right whether they actually are or not. Five stars.