True Crime (1999)

Clint Eastwood Movie #8

Synopsis: An innocent man is about to be executed. So, after a police investigation, a trial, and God knows how many appeals, it’s up to a philandering, burnt-out, alcoholic journalist with a free afternoon to save the day.

Blurb From the VHS Jacket: “He’s a boozer, a skirt chaser, a careless father. You could create your own list of veteran reporter Steve Everett’s faults, but right now there isn’t time. At San Quentin, a Death Row prisoner is scheduled to die at midnight – a man Everett has suddenly realized is innocent.”

What Did I Learn?: Placing your young daughter in a baby carriage, and pushing it maniacally at top speed through the zoo is a perfect example of piss-poor parenting.

You Might Like This Movie If: you know that false accusations can make for great entertainment.

Really?: 1) See “Synopsis”. 2) I realize Kate Everett is played by Eastwood’s real-life daughter Francesca, but holy shit, Clint was about 70 when this film was released. It seems a little weird/creepy to see him raising a grade-school age daughter and hitting on a 23-year old co-worker at a bar.

Rating: True Crime is a slow-moving drama, but it builds to an edge-of-your-seat climax that will stay with you for a long time. Eastwood is good as the deeply-flawed-but-honourable reporter, and I loved his scenes with Denis Leary and James Woods (this blog’s favourite unlikeable guy). My only complaint with True Crime is that far too much time is spent observing Beechum (Isiah Washington) and his family cope with the impending execution; those scenes are hard to watch, and they don’t really advance the main story, which is Everett’s investigation. 7.5/10 stars.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139668/?ref_=nv_sr_1