True Crime is a fairly engaging movie that has some good performances. Eastwood as the director stages the action well and moves the plot forward. Only in the scenes where he takes his daughter to the zoo does the film tend to lose a little momentum. Then again, a scene like that helps illustrate the character that Eastwood is playing. He'll follow a story, but he'll try to make time for his daughter. Eastwood the actor, he seems to enjoy the roles of the tough but flawed theme. His character in True Crime is a womanizer, and a former drunk. Good characters always have flaws and Eastwood can play them with his eyes closed. The supporting cast is well rounded and helps advance the narrative. The only qualm I had was that Eastwood the director, should've tightened the running time and made the story that much more urgent. We've all seen the beat the clock films and this one's no exception. What could've made this movie better is a brisker pace, but Eastwood the director chose a more laid back style. After thirty years in the business, Eastwood can do whatever he wants with his films. He's earned it.
206 Reviews
Slow build-up to a clock ticking climax...
Doylenf21 September 2006
TRUE CRIME is a sophisticated crime thriller that takes time to delve into its lead character--CLINT EASTWOOD--who promptly turns out to be very much like the Eastwood character we've already seen in a dozen or so films--boozy, insolent, direct, and relentless when he's on the trail of a killer or playing detective with everyday citizens.
It isn't until his newspaper partner is killed in a driving accident that his conscience takes over and he decides to pursue the case that intrigued her--a case involving a man she believes is innocently awaiting sentence in California's death row.
He pleads with his newspaper boss (JAMES WOODS) to give him more time to insert himself into the case and track down the real killer. This leads to a black woman who inadvertently gives him a clue he's been searching for and to their desperate attempt to reach the governor in time to stop the execution. Scenes of the state preparing step by step to begin the process are cross-cut with Eastwood's car chase to alert the authorities in time. It makes a smashing, riveting climax.
Basic storyline seems awfully familiar for anyone who has seen a movie from the '40s, CALL NORTHSIDE 777, all about one man's attempt to save a man from the chair whom he believes is totally innocent. And there too, the clue depended on a piece of evidence seen by the naked eye.
Eastwood's acting and direction is above reproach--he's fine and totally in control in both departments. In fact, all the supporting roles are extremely well played. Well worth viewing--and has something to say about race relations too.
It isn't until his newspaper partner is killed in a driving accident that his conscience takes over and he decides to pursue the case that intrigued her--a case involving a man she believes is innocently awaiting sentence in California's death row.
He pleads with his newspaper boss (JAMES WOODS) to give him more time to insert himself into the case and track down the real killer. This leads to a black woman who inadvertently gives him a clue he's been searching for and to their desperate attempt to reach the governor in time to stop the execution. Scenes of the state preparing step by step to begin the process are cross-cut with Eastwood's car chase to alert the authorities in time. It makes a smashing, riveting climax.
Basic storyline seems awfully familiar for anyone who has seen a movie from the '40s, CALL NORTHSIDE 777, all about one man's attempt to save a man from the chair whom he believes is totally innocent. And there too, the clue depended on a piece of evidence seen by the naked eye.
Eastwood's acting and direction is above reproach--he's fine and totally in control in both departments. In fact, all the supporting roles are extremely well played. Well worth viewing--and has something to say about race relations too.
one of the surprisingly good suspense films of 99
Quinoa198414 June 2000
Clint Eastwood's True Crime shows how even at the ripe old age of 69 (or 70) he can still make a film that has an equal level of skill and practical entertainment value to his older ones. It's nothing great as art, however, and I doubt that it'll be put along the ranks of his great westerns of really chilling cop thrillers. But I remember seeing it twice in the theater (the second time as it was the only movie I could see as being worth seeing among the lot of movies that were out in the theater that time of the year), and thinking well enough of it both times. It's a perfunctory, suspenseful look at a flawed-man though hard-edged journalist (Eastwood) who is trying to find the truth of a death years earlier to save a man's life on deat5h row (Isaiah Washingon is convincing as this man). Denis Leary and James Woods give their all for Eastwood here as co-stars, and there's always a sense of other good character actors in the mix as well (Michael Jeter anyone?). With moments of sorrow mixed with touches of dark comedy, and a finale we all know is coming but keeps us biting the nails all the way, it's not bad at all. If I wouldn't rank it right up there with the best of Eastwood's it might be because of its pat predictability and somewhat lack of interest in the core case in the story. B+
Good character driven story but usual `race against the clock' conclusion
bob the moo2 May 2002
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.
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.
Formulaic, But Good
ReelCheese27 September 2006
Here's one of those movies that's basically been done before but still manages to hold our interest -- and hold it fairly well. Squinty Clinty plays an over-the-hill newspaper reporter who sniffs a bigger scoop when assigned a human interest story about a death row inmate hours away from execution. It seems his fine shackled friend is really innocent, but can our hero prove it in time?
It's hard to pinpoint what elevates TRUE CRIME above its formulaic tendencies. Though not in top form, Eastwood is intriguing despite his character's occasional unlikeability. Isaiah Washington, playing the innocent inmate, is well cast and able to stoically earn our sympathy. Eastwood's newsroom antics would seem tired in many other films, but decent writing and supporting performances help keep things moving at a reasonably smooth pace. And although we know Eastwood will prevail at the end of the day, we're not always quite sure how.
TRUE CRIME is a picture some will appreciate more than others. What's for certain is that there are much worse ways to spend 127 minutes. It's worth a look on a rainy night.
It's hard to pinpoint what elevates TRUE CRIME above its formulaic tendencies. Though not in top form, Eastwood is intriguing despite his character's occasional unlikeability. Isaiah Washington, playing the innocent inmate, is well cast and able to stoically earn our sympathy. Eastwood's newsroom antics would seem tired in many other films, but decent writing and supporting performances help keep things moving at a reasonably smooth pace. And although we know Eastwood will prevail at the end of the day, we're not always quite sure how.
TRUE CRIME is a picture some will appreciate more than others. What's for certain is that there are much worse ways to spend 127 minutes. It's worth a look on a rainy night.
Intense, engrossing adult drama
cinemel22 March 1999
Clint Eastwood has directed himself in an intense drama of a journalist who has been given the assignment of interviewing a death row prisoner (Isaiah Washington) on the day of his execution. The fly in the ointment is that Eastwood's nose for the truth leads him to believe the man is innocent of the crime. Eastwood portrays a flawed character who is a womanizer, and irresponsible father and a recently reformed drunk. These chinks in his armor become apparent as he goes about the business of trying to ferret out the facts that he hopes will lead to the prisoner's exoneration.
The performances are uniformly excellent. Washington distinguishes himself as a man facing death as he subtly reveals the pain and anguish seething just beneath the surface. Lisa Gay Hamilton (currently burning up the screen in TV's "The Practice") will break your heart as Washington's wife. On the minus side, Eastwood is getting a little long in the tooth to be paired with some of the young actresses he is shown with here. In addition, the climax is a bit cliched and mechanical, but strangely satisfying. The race to the midnight execution is a bit reminiscent of the film-within-a-film in Robert Altman's "The Player". Only in that film it was meant to be slightly tongue-in-cheek. These faults aside, "True Crime" will keep your attention even though you might correctly be predicting what will happen next. The reason for this is the impassioned performances Eastwood has drawn from his first-rate cast.
The performances are uniformly excellent. Washington distinguishes himself as a man facing death as he subtly reveals the pain and anguish seething just beneath the surface. Lisa Gay Hamilton (currently burning up the screen in TV's "The Practice") will break your heart as Washington's wife. On the minus side, Eastwood is getting a little long in the tooth to be paired with some of the young actresses he is shown with here. In addition, the climax is a bit cliched and mechanical, but strangely satisfying. The race to the midnight execution is a bit reminiscent of the film-within-a-film in Robert Altman's "The Player". Only in that film it was meant to be slightly tongue-in-cheek. These faults aside, "True Crime" will keep your attention even though you might correctly be predicting what will happen next. The reason for this is the impassioned performances Eastwood has drawn from his first-rate cast.
Intense, engrossing adult drama
cinemel18 March 1999
Clint Eastwood has directed himself in an intense drama of a journalist who has been given the assignment of interviewing a death row prisoner (Isaiah Washington) on the day of his execution. The fly in the ointment is that Eastwood's nose for the truth leads him to believe the man is innocent of the crime. Eastwood portrays a very flawed character who is a womanizer, an irresponsible father and a reformed drunk. These chinks in his armor become apparent as he goes about the business of trying to ferret out the facts that he hopes will lead to the prisoner's exoneration. The performances are uniformly excellent. Washington distinguishes himself as a man facing death as he subtly reveals the pain and anguish seething just beneath the surface. Lisa Gay Hamilton (currently burning up the screen in TV's "The Practice") will break your heart as Washington's wife. On the minus side, Eastwood is getting a little long in the tooth to be paired with some of the young actresses he is shown with here. In addition, the climax is a bit cliched and mechanical, but strangely satisfying. The race to the midnight execution is a bit reminiscent of the film-within-a-film in Robert Altman's "The Player". Only in that film it was meant to be slightly tongue-in-cheek. These faults aside, "True Crime" will keep your attention even though you might be correctly predicting what will happen next. The reason for this is the impassioned performances Eastwood has drawn from his wonderful cast.
Hurrah for Clint
pieter-325 June 2001
No C.E. movie can ever be a complete disappointment but this one came close. Clint kissing a girl almost 50 years younger, Clint with a kid, while he could be her grand-grandfather etc. These are hopeless scenes, to be forgotten as quickly as we can. But with James Woods and is his pursuit for the truth it is still the good-old Clint Eastwood.
Unfortunately the story isn't strong enough to tip the balance. The film drags on till a ridiculous ending that fits in every Hollywood tradition, but is just a little bit too optimistic about the working of the judicial system for my taste. Oh, what the heck, I still had a good evening in front of the tv.
Unfortunately the story isn't strong enough to tip the balance. The film drags on till a ridiculous ending that fits in every Hollywood tradition, but is just a little bit too optimistic about the working of the judicial system for my taste. Oh, what the heck, I still had a good evening in front of the tv.
Well constructed movie
hpwayne27 August 1999
This movie had a great script and Eastwood paid close attention to details. I could not find any holes in the plot and the story line seemed quite believable. Eastwood over did it a bit with the women. It seemed every woman in the movie, young and old wanted to jump in bed with him. The ending, though predictable was well done.
Despite a so-so sub-plot, "True Crime" is terrific.
mhasheider17 July 2000
After watching Clint Eastwood's "True Crime" for the first time, I didn't what to think of it, so I get it another chance. Eastwood plays Steve Everett, a journalist that works for the Oakland Tribune and is still haunted by his past and his dirty habits (alcohol & women). Everett is asked by the newspaper's editor Alan Mann (James Woods - The Virgin Suicides) and a calm excutive Bob Findley (Denis Leary - The Thomas Crown Affair) to interview Frank Meachum (Isiah Washington - Bulworth), a Death Row inmate who is to be excuted by lethal injection at a prison in San Quentin at midnight. Everett takes the assignment and notices that Meachum is innocent. The sub-plot is so-so and that's about Steve's marriage with his wife, Barbara (Diane Venora - Heat). Eastwood has assembled a very solid cast and the peformances are great, most notably, Eastwood, Washington, Woods, and Bernard Hill as the prison's confident warden. There are a few lines that Woods says to Eastwood and Leary that made me chuckle. This film's ending is good as "In The Line of Fire" is. Jack N. Green's cinematography is good as Lennie Niehaus's musical score. Despite the so-so subplot, "True Crime" is terrific .
Good film hampered by need for action and happy ending
richb-57 July 1999
I enjoyed this film as despite its 'save the innocent man on death row' cliche-ridden plot line it did not did not preach the message. Was it anti-racist?, anti-death penalty? or simply anti-poor justice / don't kill the wrong man?
The characters were all allowed flaws (especially Clint - who even showed us that he is not growing old with dignity - or at least his body isn't) and there were scenes which register true emotion. The comparison between the two fathers dealing with the daughters ("speed-zoo" and all that) was excellent). The film was spoiled by the need to introduce too much of a cliff hanger (was he / wasn't he guilty), an action sequence (most implausible and unnecessary car chase ever!) and the ultimate last second rescue! I seriously wonder and would love to know if the original script / version has the opposite conclusion, with the final phone call actually arriving too late. How much more powerful that would have been?
I really felt cheated by the last 10 minutes of an otherwise well-made, thoughtful and well-observed film.
The characters were all allowed flaws (especially Clint - who even showed us that he is not growing old with dignity - or at least his body isn't) and there were scenes which register true emotion. The comparison between the two fathers dealing with the daughters ("speed-zoo" and all that) was excellent). The film was spoiled by the need to introduce too much of a cliff hanger (was he / wasn't he guilty), an action sequence (most implausible and unnecessary car chase ever!) and the ultimate last second rescue! I seriously wonder and would love to know if the original script / version has the opposite conclusion, with the final phone call actually arriving too late. How much more powerful that would have been?
I really felt cheated by the last 10 minutes of an otherwise well-made, thoughtful and well-observed film.
Just 2 comments....
dcheng-720 May 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This is another piece of magnificent work by Clint.
I only have two problems with this film.
Firstly, Steve looks too old to have such a young daughter, who looks more like his grandchild, despite the fact that she is really his daughter. I mean, films are made to suit viewers' normal perception and not necessarily reality.
Secondly, when Frank meets Steve in the last scene, how can he acted so coldly when seeing someone who had saved his life, his family and everything he owns? Normally, Frank should have given Steve a big hug and plenty of grateful words. He couldn't have just raised his hand and walked away with his family indifferently after what had happened in the film.
Otherwise I enjoy the rest of the film.
I only have two problems with this film.
Firstly, Steve looks too old to have such a young daughter, who looks more like his grandchild, despite the fact that she is really his daughter. I mean, films are made to suit viewers' normal perception and not necessarily reality.
Secondly, when Frank meets Steve in the last scene, how can he acted so coldly when seeing someone who had saved his life, his family and everything he owns? Normally, Frank should have given Steve a big hug and plenty of grateful words. He couldn't have just raised his hand and walked away with his family indifferently after what had happened in the film.
Otherwise I enjoy the rest of the film.
Effective Thriller supported by great cast
SwatchDog7 January 2001
Clint Eastwood has still got it after all these years, and True Crime is proof. This effective thriller follows journalist Steve Everett in his hunt to free a man from execution. It is Eastwood's directorial flair that soars the film from a mediocre thriller into a highly original, sensational Oscar-worthy vehicle. The rest of the cast are also of top standard with Isaiah Washington playing the accused and Lisa Gay Hamilton as his distraught wife. Both co-stars give sensational, gripping performances and are indeed the film's highpoint (even shadowing Eastwood). James Woods also soars as Everett's strict yet sleasy employer. Penny Bae Bridges & Francesca Ruth Eastwood also give breakthrough performances as the daughters of Eastwood & Washington respectively. The extremely tense finale keeps audiences on the end of their seats impatient for the truth to revealed. Overall an extremely well-paced, gripping thriller guaranteed to intrigue audiences. 9/10
Unfocused
PKC11 January 2005
There is a good movie in here someplace trying to get out. The main problem is a lack of focus. Is it a character study of an unlikable guy? Is it a murder mystery? Is it a polemic against capital punishment? The answer to all three is "yes." As a result, it does all of them reasonably well, but none of them as well as it might. I will give Eastwood credit for taking on a character who is so difficult to like. Of course, I must join the legions on IMDb decrying -- and laughing at -- Clint for making his character a ladies man. Maybe if he had been hitting on 55 year olds instead of hot 30 years olds it would have been more credible -- and less distasteful. But as a screed against the death penalty this movie is effective, though the deck is stacked because the accused is innocent as well as likable.
Clint soars again with a good cast, adding lustre to routine story.
movieman919 March 1999
I'll be perfectly frank; it's difficult for me not to have bias in my reviews of Clint Eastwood films because I admire his persona as a actor and director a great deal. However, saying that, I never shy away from giving credit when credit is due. I praised "Bridges of Madison County," raved "In the Line of Fire," okayed "Absolute Power," and failed to see the point of "Midnight in the Garden..." Clint's latest effort, entitled TRUE CRIME, is another good mystery that can be added to Clint's stellar works of the nineties. I will admit that it doesn't necessarily give us a story that we haven't seen before, or give us a Clint that we failed to notice previously, but the acting is so top-notch and the story is very well-paced, it's very hard to knock this film. Clint is a journalist for an Oakland paper who is famous for turning print media into crime-solving reports. He is also far from saintly, sleeping around with various women of assorted age groups (one of them happens to be his supervisor's wife), and of course, he drinks up a storm. Amidst all these turn-offs, he still has the guts to prove that a young black man (Isaiah Washington, in a fine performance) is not guilty of killing a convenience store clerk in cold blood. He has less than a day to prove it because, it so happens, Washington is to be executed by lethal injection at San Quentin by a minute after midnight, that very night! Sound familiar? What does work very well in TRUE CRIME is the way in which the film is paced. Clint cuts right to the chase, giving us just the facts, keeping the suspense taut throughout the whole film, and maintaining our interest. His cast is well chosen as always. Washington is a fine new talent, doing an effecting acting job here. James Woods appears in a few entertaining scenes as the head editor of the paper, humorous and stylish as usual. Denis Leary, very subdued this time, is Eastwood's protege. Frances Fisher even turns up briefly as the district attorney who handled Washington's case six years before. TRUE CRIME is a good thriller, told with quick pacing, effective acting, and good direction as always by Eastwood. The only major problem I have is that it doesn't provide us with any new plotlines or intricate complications. But then again, how often do we get something like this from Hollywood anymore? It is certainly not a lot. Rating: Three stars.
Fair thriller
bwaynef23 October 2003
Another fairly dreary thriller from Clint Eastwood based on a best-seller. As a broken down reporter hoping to redeem himself by saving an innocent man from death row, Eastwood might have been able to make something out of his role, but his insistence, at age 68, to play a ladies man, one who is even seen shirtless, sabotages the effort, as does his decision to play Steve Everett (which sounds like the name of a character Elvis would have played in one of his race car movies) as a chain smoker. Like Dustin Hoffman in "Straw Dogs" and Kevin Costner in "The Untouchables," just the way he holds the cigarette convinces a smoker like myself that health nut Clint is a pretender to the nicotine habit.
Still, unlike "Absolute Power," his previous starring vehicle, "True Crime" manages to work up a fair amount of suspense as Eastwood races against the clock to save a man's life and to save his own career. There's also a fine cast. Unlike his potboilers of the 70s and 80s in which the supporting roles were usually filled by good actors whose careers had nonetheless seen better days, here, as in most of his films from the 90s, Eastwood is surrounded by other "name" actors, including James Woods and Dennis Leary, both of whom have enough intensity to keep Eastwood awake.
Still, unlike "Absolute Power," his previous starring vehicle, "True Crime" manages to work up a fair amount of suspense as Eastwood races against the clock to save a man's life and to save his own career. There's also a fine cast. Unlike his potboilers of the 70s and 80s in which the supporting roles were usually filled by good actors whose careers had nonetheless seen better days, here, as in most of his films from the 90s, Eastwood is surrounded by other "name" actors, including James Woods and Dennis Leary, both of whom have enough intensity to keep Eastwood awake.
some bad filler in functional investigation movie
SnoopyStyle16 November 2015
Steve Everett (Clint Eastwood) is a womanizing married recovering alcoholic. He returns to his journalist job at Oakland Tribune after rehab. A young reporter dies in an accident and he assigned her interview with death row inmate Frank Beechum (Isaiah Washington). Beechum was a troubled youth until he became born-again and married to Bonnie (LisaGay Hamilton). He's scheduled to be executed in a few hours for the murder of a pregnant store clerk but Everett starts to wonder about his guilt.
There is a functional investigative crime mystery in this movie although the plot isn't very surprising. Clint Eastwood has filled it with too much uninteresting filler. Some of it is really cheesy. I think he wants Reverend Shillerman to be comic relief which really doesn't work. The most annoying is the Hollywood high speed chase to end the investigation. It's utterly ridiculous. Maybe he could call the governor or the prison or the wife. It's a bad attempt to make it artificially exciting.
There is a functional investigative crime mystery in this movie although the plot isn't very surprising. Clint Eastwood has filled it with too much uninteresting filler. Some of it is really cheesy. I think he wants Reverend Shillerman to be comic relief which really doesn't work. The most annoying is the Hollywood high speed chase to end the investigation. It's utterly ridiculous. Maybe he could call the governor or the prison or the wife. It's a bad attempt to make it artificially exciting.
The true crime is this movie's shallowness.
dunmore_ego18 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
TRUE CRIME has the potential to be a powerful thought experiment, exploring the psychology behind the perception of what True Crime truly is. Aside from implicit racism, no real issues are broached in this dialog-driven Clint Eastwood actioner. From an Andrew Klaven novel, TRUE CRIME is merely the tale of a wrongly-convicted murderer on death row, Frank Beechum (played stolidly by Isaiah Washington) and curmudgeon reporter, Steve Everett's (Eastwood) 11th-hour hunt for the truth to grant his stay of execution.
The question of what criteria constitutes True Crime is never raised. The plot involves a young black man robbing a grocery store and accidentally killing the pregnant female clerk, while Beechum happens to be in the store. Beechum is convicted for the crime on the tried-and-true Whitey charge of "Being Black And Nearby." To really bite at the meat of the movie's title, we would be exploring who is more of a criminal: the robber-murderer, or the congressperson whose mismanagement of social policy created the necessity for the robber to turn to crime for survival in the first place.
In other words, is the bottom rung of society to blame for their survival instincts, when those instincts are only brought into prominence because white-collar criminals create a disparity of wealth in society to begin with? Well, slap a little racism in there - keep the deep thinkers at bay. For a second.
There are a few too-convenient plot points and pulp coincidences, and we shudder to think how a less talented director might have made a mush of them. Only Eastwood directing Eastwood can get away with contrivances like Everett knowing the governor personally and later calling in a favor in the dead of night when the clock is ticking down; only Eastwood directing Eastwood can make sexagenarian Everett a convincing skirt-chaser, involved with a fellow reporter's (Denis Leary) wife. Only Eastwood directing Eastwood, Etc.
For the simple story it is, TRUE CRIME hits its marks and pays off: dialog is snappy, especially the uber-masculine repartee between Eastwood, James Woods (as his editor) and Denis Leary; the principals give nuanced performances - Lisa Gay Hamilton as Washington's loyal wife, Diane Verona as Everett's estranged wife, Michael Jeter as a slimy eyewitness; Bernard Hill as a sympathetic warden and Michael McKean as a boneheaded priest. Eastwood's real-life daughter, Francesca Fisher-Eastwood (from ex-wife Frances Fisher), plays his cute little daughter.
--Review by Poffy The Cucumber.
The question of what criteria constitutes True Crime is never raised. The plot involves a young black man robbing a grocery store and accidentally killing the pregnant female clerk, while Beechum happens to be in the store. Beechum is convicted for the crime on the tried-and-true Whitey charge of "Being Black And Nearby." To really bite at the meat of the movie's title, we would be exploring who is more of a criminal: the robber-murderer, or the congressperson whose mismanagement of social policy created the necessity for the robber to turn to crime for survival in the first place.
In other words, is the bottom rung of society to blame for their survival instincts, when those instincts are only brought into prominence because white-collar criminals create a disparity of wealth in society to begin with? Well, slap a little racism in there - keep the deep thinkers at bay. For a second.
There are a few too-convenient plot points and pulp coincidences, and we shudder to think how a less talented director might have made a mush of them. Only Eastwood directing Eastwood can get away with contrivances like Everett knowing the governor personally and later calling in a favor in the dead of night when the clock is ticking down; only Eastwood directing Eastwood can make sexagenarian Everett a convincing skirt-chaser, involved with a fellow reporter's (Denis Leary) wife. Only Eastwood directing Eastwood, Etc.
For the simple story it is, TRUE CRIME hits its marks and pays off: dialog is snappy, especially the uber-masculine repartee between Eastwood, James Woods (as his editor) and Denis Leary; the principals give nuanced performances - Lisa Gay Hamilton as Washington's loyal wife, Diane Verona as Everett's estranged wife, Michael Jeter as a slimy eyewitness; Bernard Hill as a sympathetic warden and Michael McKean as a boneheaded priest. Eastwood's real-life daughter, Francesca Fisher-Eastwood (from ex-wife Frances Fisher), plays his cute little daughter.
--Review by Poffy The Cucumber.
When my nose tells me something stinks, I gotta have faith in it.
lastliberal4 July 2007
I don't know why this film doesn't get much credit. I thought Eastwood's directing and acting were superb. He plays a writer on his last legs like no one I can imagine. He's a loser, a womanizer, a reformed drunk - no one can do that like Eastwood can.
The story is powerful. It is no surprise that there are many on death row who are innocent. The police and prosecution want a quick arrest and conviction to silence an angry public. They ignore evidence, lose evidence, manufacture evidence - they do whatever it takes. This isn't supposition; it is a proved fact over and over and no one ever gets punished for doing it.
Isaiah Washington of Grey's Anatomy (well, not any more) was excellent as the innocent man.
Give this a look.
The story is powerful. It is no surprise that there are many on death row who are innocent. The police and prosecution want a quick arrest and conviction to silence an angry public. They ignore evidence, lose evidence, manufacture evidence - they do whatever it takes. This isn't supposition; it is a proved fact over and over and no one ever gets punished for doing it.
Isaiah Washington of Grey's Anatomy (well, not any more) was excellent as the innocent man.
Give this a look.
Uncomfortable Watching Clint Woo Young Women
slightlymad2218 April 2017
True Crime (1999)
Plot In A Paragraph: An alcoholic journalist (Eastwood) tries to uncover the evidence that can prove a death row inmate's innocence just hours before his execution?
I always enjoy this movie when I watch it, but it's not one I rewatch often. It was a little uncomfortable seeing Clint hit on all the young women (watching a 69 year old man kissing a 24 year old girl was just cringe worthy) and his acting (usually above reproach) is unusually off at times!! Especially the scene when he finds out the reporter died.
Isiah Washington is great, as is Lisa Gray Hamilton, Dennis Leary is good and James Woods is his usual brilliant self. I forgot Michael Jeter (whom I adore) was in it, I didn't remember Lucy Lui was in this either.
The movie was a failure at the box-office grossing only $16 million (less than half of its production cost) making it Clint Eastwood's second worst performing picture of the 1990s after White Hunter Black Heart (1990). It ended 1997 as the 94th highest grossing movie of the year.
Plot In A Paragraph: An alcoholic journalist (Eastwood) tries to uncover the evidence that can prove a death row inmate's innocence just hours before his execution?
I always enjoy this movie when I watch it, but it's not one I rewatch often. It was a little uncomfortable seeing Clint hit on all the young women (watching a 69 year old man kissing a 24 year old girl was just cringe worthy) and his acting (usually above reproach) is unusually off at times!! Especially the scene when he finds out the reporter died.
Isiah Washington is great, as is Lisa Gray Hamilton, Dennis Leary is good and James Woods is his usual brilliant self. I forgot Michael Jeter (whom I adore) was in it, I didn't remember Lucy Lui was in this either.
The movie was a failure at the box-office grossing only $16 million (less than half of its production cost) making it Clint Eastwood's second worst performing picture of the 1990s after White Hunter Black Heart (1990). It ended 1997 as the 94th highest grossing movie of the year.
Surprisingly very good!!!!
Idocamstuf19 August 2003
After seeing many other reviews for this film, my interest was dulled, but when it aired on TV, I said "hey, why not", and I ended up being pleasently surprised. OK, it is formulamatic, but it is undeniably suspensful, and always entertaining. Its another film that shows that our justice system is not perfect. Also, great cast as well, James Woods(Videodrome, Casino), and look quick for Christine Ebersol(Amadeus), and even Anthony Zerbe(Papillon, The Dead Zone), he plays the governor for a few seconds near the end, if anyone cares. Once again, its a really good film, deserves at least 7.0 user rating. I'll give it 8.
very good
blanche-223 December 2007
"True Crime" is a very good, if derivative film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. We've seen the whole thing before, but it goes to show that if something is well done and well performed, the viewer will become very involved in it. A rogue reporter, an off and on drunk, who is assigned a human interest story of a man on death row comes to believe in his innocence and must find a way to stop the execution. There are some strong performances by Isaiah Washington, Lisa Gay Hamilton and Diana Venora as well as Eastwood's smooth direction. James Woods to me seemed a little over the top, if only because Eastwood is so relaxed.
I have the same problem with this film as I have had with past Eastwood films, and that has to do with his age. Eastwood is 68 in this film; his character is still working - no mention of retirement; he's a ladies man and at the end of the movie he's trying to pick up a 20-something; he has a four-year-old or so daughter. I'm just taking a stab at this - the character is supposed to be, say, 10 to 20 years younger? One assumes then that there is a young wife at home - well, she's young for Eastwood anyway - it's Diana Venora, with whom I went to school. What's the story with this marriage? Is it a recent one? Frankly I'm surprised that Eastwood, who insists on playing roles he's 10 to 20 years too old for, would have tolerated a woman in her forties as his wife. Maybe in his mind, they're the same age. He was running through the forest like an Olympian in "Absolute Power" while he looked like Father Time; he had ropes in his neck for "Bridges of Madison County." Meanwhile, the film "Premonition" cast Kate Nelligan, age 57, as 43-year-old Sandra Bullock's mother and in "Postcards from the Edge," 56-year-old Shirley Maclaine as 41-year-old Meryl Streep's mother. These women evidently lived in states that allowed 14-year-olds to be married.
My point is, Hollywood can never get the ages right. Women are pushed into old age in their fifties and the male stars get to play 40-year-olds when they're pushing eighty. At a certain point, it becomes insulting. If this film had been made last year, I suppose Diana Venora would have been playing Clint's mother.
So though I like Eastwood very much and his directing very much and found this film compelling, I was distracted - as I have been in the past - by these little details. We shouldn't be expected to have to suspend reality with the ages of the characters as well as everything else. Once in a while, I'd like to focus on the story.
I have the same problem with this film as I have had with past Eastwood films, and that has to do with his age. Eastwood is 68 in this film; his character is still working - no mention of retirement; he's a ladies man and at the end of the movie he's trying to pick up a 20-something; he has a four-year-old or so daughter. I'm just taking a stab at this - the character is supposed to be, say, 10 to 20 years younger? One assumes then that there is a young wife at home - well, she's young for Eastwood anyway - it's Diana Venora, with whom I went to school. What's the story with this marriage? Is it a recent one? Frankly I'm surprised that Eastwood, who insists on playing roles he's 10 to 20 years too old for, would have tolerated a woman in her forties as his wife. Maybe in his mind, they're the same age. He was running through the forest like an Olympian in "Absolute Power" while he looked like Father Time; he had ropes in his neck for "Bridges of Madison County." Meanwhile, the film "Premonition" cast Kate Nelligan, age 57, as 43-year-old Sandra Bullock's mother and in "Postcards from the Edge," 56-year-old Shirley Maclaine as 41-year-old Meryl Streep's mother. These women evidently lived in states that allowed 14-year-olds to be married.
My point is, Hollywood can never get the ages right. Women are pushed into old age in their fifties and the male stars get to play 40-year-olds when they're pushing eighty. At a certain point, it becomes insulting. If this film had been made last year, I suppose Diana Venora would have been playing Clint's mother.
So though I like Eastwood very much and his directing very much and found this film compelling, I was distracted - as I have been in the past - by these little details. We shouldn't be expected to have to suspend reality with the ages of the characters as well as everything else. Once in a while, I'd like to focus on the story.
It's why I go to movies.
JMW4UT26 March 1999
I was beginning to think that a great storytelling drama had gone the way of the typewriter. This film tells a great story with not a lot of pomp and circumstance. I feel the character development was just enough to make you care, and not enough to get too involved in the characters' lives which would have distracted from the overall story the movie was trying to tell. It was like reading a very good "Reader's Digest" version of an enthralling book. I was glad to see James Woods and Clint Eastwood together, and they play well off of each other. It's a pleasure to see two veteran actors with a good script. I very much enjoyed the emotional scenes in the prison with the family. The film did not go for the "cheap" tear, but instead opted for some real and true emotion which brought with it the response from my emotional inner-self. The film was not, like so many police-type dramas, too complex for the average once-a-month movie person to grasp. It was straight forward and proved to be a lesson in reality. The dialogue did not get "preachy" when it came to death penalty issues and I'm grateful for the director allowing the audience to make up their own minds concerning a subject that has been talked to death-no puns intended. It was a great story with great actors. It's why I go to movies.
Yet another film that has the audience questioning capital punishment...
planktonrules22 August 2017
"True Crime" is an exciting film to watch...and I am glad I saw it. And, the film brings up some really important reasons why the death penalty, at least in some cases, is a crazy punishment because you cannot undo it once it's done.
Clint Eastwood (who is actually too old for this role) plays Steve, a reporter for an Oakland newspaper. He's a mess...a womanizer, a drunk and a jerk. But when he's given a last moment assignment to interview a man about to be executed, something odd happens to Steve...he begins to give a darn about something. And, the more he digs the more the case looks shaky...built upon only eyewitness testimony and circumstantial evidence.
This is an uneven film. The portions with Eastwood were okay but not much more. Where the movie really, really shined was in portraying the man on death row and his family...that was marvelously made and Eastwood, in this case, was a better director than actor and got some marvelous performances out of everyone. Worth seeing but uneven and, when you think about it, hard to believe. Plus, that homeless guy...why was he in the film and who thought having him sexually harass ladies was funny or worth including in the story?!
Clint Eastwood (who is actually too old for this role) plays Steve, a reporter for an Oakland newspaper. He's a mess...a womanizer, a drunk and a jerk. But when he's given a last moment assignment to interview a man about to be executed, something odd happens to Steve...he begins to give a darn about something. And, the more he digs the more the case looks shaky...built upon only eyewitness testimony and circumstantial evidence.
This is an uneven film. The portions with Eastwood were okay but not much more. Where the movie really, really shined was in portraying the man on death row and his family...that was marvelously made and Eastwood, in this case, was a better director than actor and got some marvelous performances out of everyone. Worth seeing but uneven and, when you think about it, hard to believe. Plus, that homeless guy...why was he in the film and who thought having him sexually harass ladies was funny or worth including in the story?!
Cliché Ridden
ahzoov11 October 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This was the most hackneyed piece of trash I've ever sat down to watch. Everything was predictable, from the car crash in the beginning to the supposedly exciting finish.
The opening of the movie was the best part. The viewer hasn't a clue why this man is being examined or why they are taking down all this trivial information. But then we move into a bar where an aging Clint Eastwood is sharing a cocktail with a twenty-something colleague of the opposite sex. She's very attractive, and I'm not sure how much they paid her for her short part, but being forced to swap spit with someone old enough to be her great grandfather should have made her eligible for hazardous duty pay. I'm sure there are a few aging baby boomers who still find Clint sexy, but that scene was done better in Scary Movie 4, and much more appropriate in a comedy.
Now who didn't see the car crash coming? A young lady has a few drinks, leaves the bar, the scene outside was heavy with fog and foreshadowing. Then we see her fiddling with the radio in pouring rain. We all know what's going to happen and thus the crash is absolutely gratuitous. Gratuitous and over the top: what could have taken less than a second seems to go on forever and ever as the tires screech and car spins again and again and again. Later we learn that she died on "Dead Man's Curve." Can you say "cliché?"
The clichés don't end there. In fact, they just don't end. Eastwood plays a recovering drunk, on the way out, hoping to reclaim his lost reputation. Everywhere he turns, he finds brick walls. The district attorney is a cliché: convinced that the person about to be executed is guilty. Eastwood's boss is a cliché: on his case, wants him gone, sure he's back on the bottle. Eastwood is the only one convinced that the convict is innocent and he's got just a few hours to save him. The stuff exciting endings are made of.
But then we see a flashback of the actual murder. The accused, played by Isaiah Washington, is in the store's bathroom, when the victim is shot. He runs out, drops to his knees, and panics. He calls for help and tries to give the girl mouth to mouth resuscitation, when in walks a customer wanting to make a phone call. He stands up and then suddenly remembers he's a cliché of a black man. We can almost hear his thoughts: "Oh geesus, I's be black. Dat white man gonna think I done killed dis white girl. Feet don't fail me now!" and he runs from the scene of the crime.
Good lord. Nobody, I repeat, NOBODY in the middle of a life or death crisis who is trying to save the life of another human being breaks out of that mode of thought to think about his own petty personal world. This was the bullcrap upon which this whole story turns? Well, at this point, they lost me entirely.
I jumped ahead to the exciting final moments with Eastwood driving his beater recklessly to the Governor's house with his "witness" in the car with him.
Just in the nick of time.
Finally, to fulfill the cliché ridden beginning and middle, we end with a Christmas cliché. Eastwood is out shopping, he exits the store, looks up, and sees the convict whose life he saved out shopping with his family. Yes, two perfect strangers brought together by coincidence, with one alive only because of the hard work and determination of the other, will always meet later during the season of joy. Believe me, I did not get the warm and fuzzies.
If I ever see this title listed in my television's guide, I will immediately say to myself: I'd rather be waterboarded.
The opening of the movie was the best part. The viewer hasn't a clue why this man is being examined or why they are taking down all this trivial information. But then we move into a bar where an aging Clint Eastwood is sharing a cocktail with a twenty-something colleague of the opposite sex. She's very attractive, and I'm not sure how much they paid her for her short part, but being forced to swap spit with someone old enough to be her great grandfather should have made her eligible for hazardous duty pay. I'm sure there are a few aging baby boomers who still find Clint sexy, but that scene was done better in Scary Movie 4, and much more appropriate in a comedy.
Now who didn't see the car crash coming? A young lady has a few drinks, leaves the bar, the scene outside was heavy with fog and foreshadowing. Then we see her fiddling with the radio in pouring rain. We all know what's going to happen and thus the crash is absolutely gratuitous. Gratuitous and over the top: what could have taken less than a second seems to go on forever and ever as the tires screech and car spins again and again and again. Later we learn that she died on "Dead Man's Curve." Can you say "cliché?"
The clichés don't end there. In fact, they just don't end. Eastwood plays a recovering drunk, on the way out, hoping to reclaim his lost reputation. Everywhere he turns, he finds brick walls. The district attorney is a cliché: convinced that the person about to be executed is guilty. Eastwood's boss is a cliché: on his case, wants him gone, sure he's back on the bottle. Eastwood is the only one convinced that the convict is innocent and he's got just a few hours to save him. The stuff exciting endings are made of.
But then we see a flashback of the actual murder. The accused, played by Isaiah Washington, is in the store's bathroom, when the victim is shot. He runs out, drops to his knees, and panics. He calls for help and tries to give the girl mouth to mouth resuscitation, when in walks a customer wanting to make a phone call. He stands up and then suddenly remembers he's a cliché of a black man. We can almost hear his thoughts: "Oh geesus, I's be black. Dat white man gonna think I done killed dis white girl. Feet don't fail me now!" and he runs from the scene of the crime.
Good lord. Nobody, I repeat, NOBODY in the middle of a life or death crisis who is trying to save the life of another human being breaks out of that mode of thought to think about his own petty personal world. This was the bullcrap upon which this whole story turns? Well, at this point, they lost me entirely.
I jumped ahead to the exciting final moments with Eastwood driving his beater recklessly to the Governor's house with his "witness" in the car with him.
Just in the nick of time.
Finally, to fulfill the cliché ridden beginning and middle, we end with a Christmas cliché. Eastwood is out shopping, he exits the store, looks up, and sees the convict whose life he saved out shopping with his family. Yes, two perfect strangers brought together by coincidence, with one alive only because of the hard work and determination of the other, will always meet later during the season of joy. Believe me, I did not get the warm and fuzzies.
If I ever see this title listed in my television's guide, I will immediately say to myself: I'd rather be waterboarded.
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