Themes: Race Against Time, Members of the Press, Amateur Sleuths
Main Cast: Clint Eastwood, Isaiah Washington, Denis Leary, Lisa Gay Hamilton, James Woods
Release Year: 1999
Country: US
Run Time: 127 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Investigative reporter Steve Everett (Clint Eastwood) has just relocated to the west coast after getting fired from the New York Times. Thanks to his old friend, Alan Mann (James Woods), the editor-in-chief of The Oakland Tribune, Everett still has a job, but that's hardly the end of his problems. An alcoholic and a womanizer, he's been sober for two months and his marriage to Barbara (Diane Venora) is in as bad a shape as his car. Everett has also earned the hatred of city editor Bob Findley (Denis Leary), and not without reason -- Everett has been sleeping with his wife. One day, when another reporter dies in an automobile accident, Findley asks Everett to take over her assignment -- the final interview of condemned murderer Frank Beachum (Isaiah Washington). Everett researches the case before the interview, and finds Beachum was convicted of a robbery and homicide in an Oakland convenience store. But the reporter finds several discrepancies in the story, and a visit to death row only confirms Everett's suspicions that Beachum was not the killer. The reporter begins a hurried search for information that will stay the execution. Plagued by his inner demons, the reporter has 12 hours left to save the life of a man he knows is innocent. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide
Review
True Crime, Clint Eastwood's 21st effort as a director, features his usual markings, but also a few new wrinkles. The adjustments seem dictated by the advancing age of Eastwood's usual leading man -- himself. While this makes True Crime an interesting outing for Eastwood, he still has a couple of adjustments to make. The crime drama carries Eastwood's stamp by offering a flawed hero, efficient storytelling, quality acting, and a moody style with both light and dark moments. What sets the film apart is that the suspense comes primarily from an intellectual race against the clock and not a set of physical action pieces. Eastwood's Steve Everett uses brains, not bullets. In Magnum Force, Dirty Harry says, "A man's got to know his limitations," and late in his career, Eastwood the director seems to realize that Eastwood the actor is too old to make a convincing action hero. But he doesn't seem to realize that he's also too old to make a convincing stud; the fact that every woman in the film wants to bed Everett undermines the believability of the plot. In fact, the plot as a whole is fairly incredible. Screenwriters Larry Gross, Paul Brickman, and Stephen Schiff make it a bit too easy for Everett to solve this case, with much of the unfolding mystery coming off as contrived. On the plus side, the characters are all believable as full-fledged humans, thanks to the actors. All of the performances are excellent, especially that of Isaiah Washington) as doomed convict Frank Beachum, whose born-again Christianity comes off as heartfelt. Still, Everett's personal story is more compelling than the execution story, and Eastwood's best moments come in the comedic scenes opposite James Woods and Denis Leary. ~ John L. Messina, All Movie Guide
Jack Gammon Taylor, Jr. - Art Director, Phyllis Huffman - Casting, Robert Lorenz - First Assistant Director, Clint Eastwood - Director, Joel Cox - Editor, Tom Rooker - Executive Producer, Lennie Niehaus - Composer (Music Score), Henry Bumstead - Production Designer, Jack N. Green - Cinematographer, Clint Eastwood - Producer, Lili Fini Zanuck - Producer, Richard D. Zanuck - Producer, Richard C. Goddard - Set Designer, Walt Martin - Sound/Sound Designer, Paul Brickman - Screenwriter, Larry Gross - Screenwriter, Stephen Schiff - Screenwriter, Andrew Klavan - Book Author
True Crime is a 1999mysterydrama film directed by Clint Eastwood, and based on Andrew Klavan's 1997 novel of the same name. Eastwood also stars in the film as a journalist covering the execution of a death row inmate, only to discover that the convict may actually be innocent.
Clint Eastwood plays Steve Everett, a journalist recovering from alcoholism, given the task of covering the execution of murderer Frank Beechum (played by Isaiah Washington). Everett discovers that Beechum might be innocent, but has only a few hours to prove his theory and save Beechum's life.
Reception
True Crime had an opening weekend gross of $5,276,109 in the US and grossed $16,649,768 total in the US.
