TRUE CRIME (Warner Bros.) Starring: Clint Eastwood, Isaiah Washington, Denis Leary, James Woods, Diane Venora, Lisa Gay Hamilton. Screenplay: Larry Gross and Paul Brickman and Stephen Schiff, based on the novel by Andrew Klavan. Producers: Richard D. Zanuck and Lili Fini Zanuck and Clint Eastwood. Director: Clint Eastwood. MPAA Rating: R (profanity, violence, adult themes) Running Time: 126 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
In Robert Altman's film industry satire THE PLAYER, an earnest young screenwriter pitches a death penalty "issue" drama called HABEAS CORPUS, which he insists should have "no stars" and a downbeat ending, because "that's reality." The studio buys the story and turns it into an action thriller in which Bruce Willis races in at the last moment to save Julia Roberts from the gas chamber, quipping "Traffic was a bitch" as he carries her to safety. Capital punishment had been reduced to a plot device for a by-the-numbers crowd-pleaser. In Hollywood, _that's_ reality.
On the surface, TRUE CRIME appears to be something a bit more highbrow, but it's still a frustrating gloss over a sensitive subject. Clint Eastwood directs himself as Steve Everett, an Oakland newspaper reporter with a shambles of a life -- he's an alcoholic only two months on the wagon, a married inveterate philanderer, and a gung ho investigative journalist with a history of gung ho-ing too far. When his editor (Denis Leary) hands him a puff-piece human interest assingment on convicted murderer Frank Beachum's (Isaiah Washington) last day before his execution, Everett can't help poking around in the facts. Those facts suggest to him that a key witness couldn't have seen what he claimed to see, and that Beachum may be an innocent man. With the execution set for midnight, Everett has only twelve hours to save Beachum's life.
And, we assume, to save his own personal and professional soul in the process. TRUE CRIME is naturally more Everett's story than anyone else's, which might lead you to expect that he's the character who will learn, grow and change, especially since he has enough character flaws to fill a week's worth of Jerry Springer episodes. Instead, Eastwood doesn't even pretend that Everett's crusade is about anything more than salvaging a shred of his professional dignity. He's a self-absorbed, flirtatious irresponsible cuss in his first scene, and he's a self-absorbed, flirtatious, irresponsible cuss in his last scene. The role is surprisingly flat, leading to a narrative where all that matters is the plot progression towards Beachum's midnight deadline.
It's in their dealing with Beachum that Eastwood and his writing team throw TRUE CRIME into the most confusion. Beachum's final hours with his wife and daughter are given a lot of screen time -- perhaps to deflect the perception that this is yet another movie about a white man finding salvation through helping anonymous non-white characters -- yet those scenes serve primarily to tangle the film's themes. If we're watching Beachum's torment simply to give Everett's story a face, it's a trivialization of that suffering. If we're watching to gain a greater understanding of the emotional anguish faced by death row inmates, in effect making TRUE CRIME a death penalty "issue" drama, then Everett's pursuit of the story is trivial. And if we're watching to build sympathy for an innocent man, than a late twist which suggests Beachum might be guilty is a manipulative cheat. The film plunges us into one side of the capital punishment debate when it serves its purpose, then tiptoes around the edges of the issue at other times to avoid the appearance of making a controversial statement.
Ironically, it's only the fact that TRUE CRIME is a slick Hollywood star project that makes it fairly watchable. Eastwood once again gathers wonderful technical support -- cinematographer Jack N. Green, composer Lennie Niehaus, production designer Henry Bumstead -- to create impressive atmosphere. He also draws a slick supporting performance from James Woods' as Everett's crass editor-in-chief, a role which makes you wonder whether Woods and Denis Leary accidentally swapped scripts but the result turned out perfectly. The buildup to Everett's down-to-the-wire race to find exonerating evidence will probably work on you in spite of your resistance, but ultimately it's clear that Eastwood's craftsmanship is disguising a genuinely weightless story. TRUE CRIME is true Hollywood, a disposable entertainment that toys with earnest respectability before turning into a chase thriller where the traffic is a bitch.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 capital offenses: 5.
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