True Crime (1999)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers (WGA):

Andrew Klavan (novel)
Larry Gross (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

19 March 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Can an over-the-hill journalist uncover the evidence that can prove a death row inmate's innocence just hours before his execution?

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | Execution | Death Row | Car Accident | Editor

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Steve Everett
Isaiah Washington	...	Frank Louis Beechum
Lisa Gay Hamilton	...	Bonnie Beechum
James Woods	...	Alan Mann
Denis Leary	...	Bob Findley
Bernard Hill	...	Warden Luther Plunkitt
Diane Venora	...	Barbara Everett
Michael McKean	...	Reverend Shillerman
Michael Jeter	...	Dale Porterhouse
Mary McCormack	...	Michelle Ziegler
Hattie Winston	...	Angela Russel
Penny Bae Bridges	...	Gail Beechum
Francesca Fisher-Eastwood	...	Kate Everett
John Finn	...	Reedy
Laila Robins	...	Patricia Findley

Also Known As:

True Crimes (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some violence.

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:15 (British Film Censors) | Spain:13 | South Korea:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Cotati, California, USA

Company:

Malpaso Productions

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Everett first visits Mrs. Russell, the bottom part of a light stand with a set of scrims can be seen on the front porch in the shot from above.

Quotes:

Steve Everett: [driving to the Governor's mansion, to try and get a last-minute reprieve for a condemned man] We go fast!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Comedy Central Roast of Denis Leary (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Little Drummer Boy

Good character driven story – but usual `race against the clock' conclusion

When his colleague is killed in a car crash, worn out journalist Steve Everett inherits her story – a human interest piece on a man due to be executed at midnight that night. Everett tries to balance his collapsing personal life with his feeling that the condemned man, Beachum, is innocent. He begins to search for the vital evidence that will prove his feeling correct.

This sounds like you know where it's going – a worn out journalist (alcoholic), an innocent man on death row, an investigation etc etc….but for the majority this manages to avoid all the usual pitfalls. It does this by being very well written, instead of caricatures we have characters. Everett is a mess, and Eastwood lets us see this – we're used to seeing rogue cops and journalists sleeping around, drinking etc, but here we see the consequences of this. Likewise we are made to feel for the Beachum family and get a feel for the human stories that exist in the support characters. However, with 30 minutes to go, we have the usual twist and countdown thriller conclusion that spoils it a lot, but not completely.

Eastwood is excellent as a director, but he's even better here as a actor. At times he plays it too light, but for the majority we can see him weighted down by the pressure of his quest but also the self inflicted collapse of his personal life. This is not an ego-driven project. Washington however steals the show with a great performance, you can't help be moved by his dignity – Denzel is not the only Washington who is under-rewarded. Lisa Gay Hamilton is also superb and works really well with Washington – together they take some scenes that could have been soapy or melodramatic and make them powerful and emotional. Woods is good and has good banter with Eastwood, but a times feels out of place with the mood of the film – but he does provide some humour. Leary is great in a non-comedy role, he is the representation of Everett's selfishness. Diane Venora is OK in a small role as Everett's wife (the casting director had clearly seen her similar role in Heat). And we have small roles for McKean and a strange role from Lucy Liu – very small considering she had already done a few big movies.

We get some `jobs for the boys' but they don't affect the quality – Eastwood has his wife (at time of writing!) Dina Eastwood and his daughter Francesca in side roles.

Overall, it may fall into the usual crime thriller cliché of a big twist, but up till then it is an assured character driven piece that is very enjoyable to watch.