TRUE CRIME RATING: 5.5 / 10 --> Not good enough to recommend
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Clint Eastwood decides to support some of his own, including his daughter, wife and ex-girlfriend, in a film that he directs, produces and stars in. Based on the novel of the same name, this movie runs approximately 125 minutes.
PLOT: An ex-drunk, wife cheater, bad father and newspaper reporter Everett, gets assigned to a human interest story covering the execution of convicted killer Frank Beachum at midnight. With a nose for the truth, Everett slowly begins to uncover holes in the man's conviction, and sets out to prove his far-fetched theories.
CRITIQUE: No suspense. No tension. Little drama. This film provides us with believable characters, great actors, and another super gruff-and-tumble performance by the charismatic Clint Eastwood, within the confines of a snails-paced plot, overly predictable development, and a hilariously convenient conclusion. If you're looking for an interesting mystery that unfolds with intrigue, obstacles and queries all around, this film is not the one for you. If you're looking for a Clint Eastwood film, featuring him playing another extra-cool character with very little redeemable qualities, and a pace which provides you with extremely limited progress as it moves along, I would suggest this film to you wholeheartedly.
Eastwood is charming, and there is no doubt about that. If it was anyone else in this role, I might've conked out during the early chapters of this floater. James Woods is also effective as the no-nonsense editor, and Isaiah Washington as the poor, convicted sap, with the rest of the cast punching in their time clocks with precision. Ultimately, there just isn't enough happening in this movie, to recommend it as an entertaining piece of cinema. Also, the complete 180 degree "change of heart" from a crucial character in the film seemed falsely created, and left a bad after-taste in my mouth. The whole film felt like a long day at a baseball game where the teams go into extra innings tied at zero-it's that feeling when you know that you've been there long and that time has passed you by, and yet the score is still tied at nothing. In the end, the film downshifts into your typical "race for the clock" scenario, and adds a taste of suspense into a film that could've used much more early on. All in all, a great performance by Eastwood, in a predictable, slow-moving, character study, disguised as an engaging, crime-solving mystery.
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars: Clint Eastwood's real-life daughter plays his cute-as-heck daughter in this film. His ex-lover, and mother of one of his five children, actress Frances Fisher, also has a cameo, as well as his current wife, Dina Ruiz, with a small part. Actor Sidney Poitier's real-life daughter also plays a role in this film. Ironically, her real name is also Sydney Poitier. Clint Eastwood got his first acting role in Rawhide while visiting a friend at the CBS lot when a studio exec spotted him because he "looked like a cowboy." He wore the same poncho, without ever having washed it, in all three of his "man with no name" western movies. MORE COMING SOON on JoBlo's Movie Emporium
Review Date: March 20, 1999 Director: Clint Eastwood Writers: Larry Gross, Paul Brickman and Stephen Schiff Producers: Clint Eastwood, Richard D. Zanuck and Lili Fini Zanuck Actors: Clint Eastwood as Steve Everett, Isaiah Washington as Frank Beachum, James Woods as Alan Mann Genre: Thriller Year of Release: 1999
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(c) 1999 Berge Garabedian
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