True Crime (1999)

Not so bad for a film that nobody really knows.

Steve Everett (Clint Eastwood) is on the brink of ruining his marriage and journalism career with his alcoholism and womanizing when he’s assigned to write a human-interest story about a death-row inmate (Isaiah Washington) — and learns the conviction was built on shaky evidence. Now, with 12 hours left until the execution, Everett embarks on a quest to save a man he’s convinced is innocent. James Woods and Denis Leary co-star.

Director Clint Eastwood has always been known to make some very good films, but also, some real stinkers. But he can also make some very average films, and this is one of them.

I liked how this film’s plot was pretty simple, and it was just strictly what it said it was in the plot. There is somewhat a sense of suspense in the air, but the real film works as a study of character. This film has many emotional scenes that surprisingly actually work, giving you a real sense of who these people are, and mostly, they all feel real.

The problem with this film is that there isn’t a lot of suspense in this film, which I think what it was going for. I could already tell where this film was going right from the 30 minute mark, but that didn’t disappoint me as much as I was expecting, since I did have an enjoyable time. I also didn’t like how the film was going for this slow, character piece the whole film, and then out of nowhere turns into a race-against-the-clock action drama.

Clint Eastwood once again, proves he is the shit, no matter what film he is in. His character is actually surprisingly flawed. He’s selfish, a liar, petty, and a venal womanizer. However, he doesn’t piss you off with all these bad factors to the point to where you can’t stand behind him, it’s Clint Eastwood, he’s always the man no matter what he does. Isaiah Washington once again proves he is such an underrated act. He has so many emotional scenes, and his character is trapped in this cell, all because of being wrongly accused, and he hits it home with that. Denis Leary is here, basically playing Denis Leary, which isn’t bad. James Woods is awesome in this bringing a lot of comedy to the film, and the scenes he has with Eastwood, are just spot-on perfect.

Consensus: Predictable, and uneven, True Crime works less of a thriller, and more of a character study, backed by strong performances from the cast.

6/10=Rental!!