Clint Eastwood go back behind the camera and maybe only he can give you those emotions, with all his mastery! Let's not turn around: Richard jewell it is a true masterpiece of realism, of the hero who does not bend but grows and evolves in space, which for us are only a couple of hours while weeks, months and even years pass for that character. We meet Richard who is what he is: a XNUMX-year-old American, markedly inclined to the law, prepared as never before on legal and police protocols. Richard is zealous for the law, almost maddening, and his excess of zeal leads him to be bullied, almost hated more for what than for his physical appearance (which is not the most athletic on the planet). Between one job and another, he knows Watson Bryant, brilliant lawyer but not exactly the most affable and sympathetic person in the world: the two forge a sort of friendship, made up of mutual digs and a sort of not entirely explicit respect.
Over time, Richard found a job as a security guard at the 1996 Olympics and because of his excess of zeal, the thirty-three-year-old found a bomb backpack: there is not a second to lose, once the bomb squad has been notified, there is. as many people as possible have to be cleared away but it is certainly difficult to involve a crowd attending a concert without panicking. The bomb explodes with a deafening roar and two people lose their lives, more than a hundred injured.
The bomb exploded on the crowd but also in the life of Richard jewell: already from the morning after the explosion is stormed by journalists who proclaim him ad hero, offers arrive from New York for the writing of a book on the affair; in short, moments of glory for our security guard, but they are just moments because shortly thereafter the media report that the FBI is on a manhunt and the first e sole suspect of the story is Richard himself who can do nothing but contact his old friend, Watson Bryant, and brace yourself to face the biggest legal battle of his life.
Genesis of a Hero
What defines Jewell a hero? Nothing in appearance, perhaps not even in substance: Richard (Paul Walter Hauser) actually did nothing but his job, and is being indicted for it. Paul Walter Hauser almost makes you hate his character, perhaps for his total personal unconsciousness, for his inability to react to the evidence of the facts. Without going into too much detail, you might hate Richard but at some point you will love him as a friend of yours, you will understand before him what he will do and how he will react: Jewell is not the hero you expect but in the end not even he expected. to become one. Sam Rockwell in the role of Watson Bryant it is scratchy: hard as a rock, as unstoppable as a steamroller when it comes to defending the rights of his client. Olivia Wilde as the assault journalist Kathy Scrugges it is kaleidoscopic: initially it is cold and calculating, a real tiger of the editorial office, ready to prey on the news first of all; Kathy will find out what it means to come to terms with the truth. Jon Hamm he has long since left the role of the “Mad Man” and takes on the role of a truly hypocritical FBI agent: the typical American jawline certainly does not help him to be likeable but neither is the role he holds.
What does it represent Richard jewell for the modern film landscape? A criticism, yet another attack on the system by an almost ninety-year-old who knows perhaps one more than the devil: Clint Eastwood continues to paint an American dream that has been lost in time, without getting lost in chatter. Unforgettable certain sequences of this film, small details that do not speak but that are felt stronger than a dialogue. The sense of realism permeates this film, to the point that you will hardly find yourself as an external audience but you will really believe that you are standing next to Richard when he "defends" himself from false accusations, when he tries to make sense of his teachings which, however, clash a lot with a too harsh reality. The film will bring out some smiles and bitter tears.
