True Crime (1999 film)

Last updated

True Crime
Truecrime.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Screenplay by Larry Gross
Paul Brickman
Stephen Schiff
Based onTrue Crime
by Andrew Klavan
Produced byClint Eastwood
Richard D. Zanuck
Lili Fini Zanuck
Starring
Cinematography Jack N. Green
Edited by Joel Cox
Music by Lennie Niehaus
Production
companies
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
  • March 19, 1999 (1999-03-19)
Running time
127 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$55 million [1]
Box office$16.6 million (US) [1]

True Crime is a 1999 American mystery thriller film directed by Clint Eastwood, and based on Andrew Klavan's 1995 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.

Contents

The film was released on March 19, 1999, grossing $16 million against its $55 million production budget.

Plot

Steve Everett, an Oakland journalist recovering from alcoholism, is assigned to cover the execution of convicted murderer Frank Beechum following the death of Everett's colleague, Michelle Ziegler, who had originally been assigned to the story.

Everett investigates the background to the case and comes to suspect that Beechum has been wrongly convicted of murdering Amy Wilson. He gets permission from his editor's boss to investigate, and is told that the top editor would call the Governor, and that would do the job, if Everett gets hard proof. He thus has a little over 12 hours to confirm his hunch and save Beechum.

Everett interviews a prosecution witness, Dale Porterhouse, who saw Beechum at the store with a gun. Everett questions Porterhouse's account, saying that, because of the layout of the store, he could not have seen a gun in Beechum's hand.

Everett confronts D.A. Cecelia Nussbaum, who reveals that, a young man, Warren, was interviewed and claimed he had stopped at the store to buy a soda and saw nothing. Everett suspects that Warren, never called as a witness, is probably the real killer. He breaks into the deceased reporter's house, suspecting that she had been onto something and finds her file on Warren. Meanwhile, Warden Luther Plunkett also starts to have doubts about Beechum's guilt.

Everett falls out with his bosses and is fired on the spot, but he points out that his contract entitles him to adequate notice. They ask him how much notice he requires, and, looking at his watch, he says 6 hours and 7 minutes. He tracks down Angela Russel, Warren's grandmother. She tells him that her grandson could not have been the murderer, and berates him for the lack of interest from the press when Warren himself was killed in a mugging two years after Amy's murder.

The prison chaplain misrepresents an exchange with Beechum as a confession to the crime. Everett hears about this on the radio and loses heart; on top of this, his wife Barbara has found out about his affair with his editor's wife and has turned him out of the house. He is about to start drinking again when he sees a piece on TV that shows a photograph of Amy wearing a locket, a locket he realizes he has seen before, being worn by Angela Russel.

Everett drives back to Angela's house. When he tells her about the locket, she realizes the truth: her grandson was the killer. Everett now has to get Angela to the Governor's house in order to persuade him to order a stay of execution. As they approach the Governor's mansion, the first of three drugs used in the execution has already been injected into Frank's bloodstream and he has lost consciousness. The Governor calls, and the doctors try to revive him, while his wife Bonnie bangs on the window calling out for him to wake up.

Six months later, a week before Christmas, Everett is out buying a stuffed hippo for his daughter, and the store's proprietor mentions that he is famous and may even win a Pulitzer. He catches sight of Frank and his family doing their Christmas shopping. Steve and Frank acknowledge each other, but Frank's daughter shouts for him to "come on," which Frank does.

Cast

Reception

True Crime was a large box-office bomb [ citation needed ] domestically; with an opening weekend gross of $5.3 million and a total domestic gross of $16.6 million, against a $55 million budget. [1]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 56% based on 41 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "True Crime has the potential for a gripping character-driven mystery, but a pedestrian story and a miscast Clint Eastwood undermine its effectiveness." [2] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [3] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clint Eastwood</span> American actor and director (born 1930)

Clinton Eastwood Jr. is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series Rawhide, Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy of spaghetti Westerns during the mid-1960s and as antihero cop Harry Callahan in the five Dirty Harry films throughout the 1970s and 1980s. These roles, among others, have made Eastwood an enduring cultural icon of masculinity. Elected in 1986, Eastwood served for two years as the mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.

<i>Unforgiven</i> 1992 film by Clint Eastwood

Unforgiven is a 1992 American Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood. It stars Eastwood himself, as William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job, years after he had turned to farming. The film co-stars Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, and Richard Harris and was written by David Webb Peoples.

<i>Dirty Harry</i> 1971 film by Don Siegel

Dirty Harry is a 1971 American neo-noir action thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first appearance as San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan. The film drew upon the real-life case of the Zodiac Killer as the Callahan character seeks out a similar vicious psychopath.

<i>Mystic River</i> (film) 2003 American drama film directed by Clint Eastwood

Mystic River is a 2003 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, and starring Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, and Laura Linney. The screenplay, written by Brian Helgeland, was based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane. It is the first film in which Eastwood was credited as composer of the score.

<i>Magnum Force</i> 1973 American film

Magnum Force is a 1973 American neo-noir action thriller film and the second to feature Clint Eastwood as maverick cop Harry Callahan after the 1971 film Dirty Harry. Ted Post, who had previously worked with Eastwood on Rawhide and Hang 'Em High, directed the film. The screenplay was written by John Milius and Michael Cimino. The film score was composed by Lalo Schifrin. This film features early appearances by David Soul, Tim Matheson and Robert Urich. At 123 minutes, it is the longest of the five Dirty Harry films.

<i>Blood Work</i> (film) 2002 film by Clint Eastwood

Blood Work is a 2002 American mystery thriller film starring, produced, and directed by Clint Eastwood. It co-stars Jeff Daniels, Wanda De Jesús, and Anjelica Huston. It is based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Michael Connelly.

<i>The Enforcer</i> (1976 film) 1976 film by James Fargo

The Enforcer is a 1976 American neo-noir action thriller film and the third in the Dirty Harry film series. Directed by James Fargo, it stars Clint Eastwood as Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan, Tyne Daly as Inspector Kate Moore, and DeVeren Bookwalter as criminal mastermind Bobby Maxwell. It was also the last film in the series to feature John Mitchum as Inspector Frank DiGiorgio.

<i>Sudden Impact</i> 1983 film by Clint Eastwood

Sudden Impact is a 1983 American neo-noir action thriller film, the fourth in the Dirty Harry series, directed, produced by and starring Clint Eastwood and co-starring Sondra Locke. The film tells the story of a gang rape victim (Locke) who decides to seek revenge on her rapists 10 years after the attack by killing them one by one. Inspector Callahan (Eastwood), famous for his unconventional and often brutal crime-fighting tactics, is tasked with tracking down the serial killer.

<i>The Dead Pool</i> 1988 film by Buddy Van Horn

The Dead Pool is a 1988 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Buddy Van Horn, written by Steve Sharon, and starring Clint Eastwood as Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan. It is the fifth and final film in the Dirty Harry film series and is set in San Francisco, California.

<i>The Beguiled</i> (1971 film) 1971 film by Don Siegel

The Beguiled is a 1971 American Southern Gothic psychological thriller film directed by Don Siegel, starring Clint Eastwood, Geraldine Page and Elizabeth Hartman. The script was written by Albert Maltz and is based on the 1966 novel written by Thomas P. Cullinan, originally titled A Painted Devil. The film marks the third of five collaborations between Siegel and Eastwood, following Coogan's Bluff (1968) and Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970), and continuing with Dirty Harry (1971) and Escape from Alcatraz (1979).

<i>High Plains Drifter</i> 1973 American Western film by Clint Eastwood

High Plains Drifter is a 1973 American Western film directed by Clint Eastwood, written by Ernest Tidyman, and produced by Robert Daley for The Malpaso Company and Universal Pictures. The film stars Eastwood as a mysterious stranger who metes out justice in a corrupt frontier mining town. The film was influenced by the work of Eastwood's two major collaborators, film directors Sergio Leone and Don Siegel. In addition to Eastwood, the film also co-stars Verna Bloom, Mariana Hill, Mitchell Ryan, Jack Ging, and Stefan Gierasch.

<i>The Gauntlet</i> (film) 1977 film directed by Clint Eastwood

The Gauntlet is a 1977 American action thriller film directed by Clint Eastwood, who stars alongside Sondra Locke. The film's supporting cast includes Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney, and Mara Corday. Eastwood plays a down-and-out cop who falls in love with a prostitute (Locke), to whom he is assigned to escort from Las Vegas to Phoenix for her to testify against the mob.

<i>Absolute Power</i> (film) 1997 American film directed by Clint Eastwood

Absolute Power is a 1997 American political action thriller film produced by, directed by, and starring Clint Eastwood as a master jewel thief who witnesses the killing of a woman by Secret Service agents. The screenplay by William Goldman is based on the 1996 novel Absolute Power by David Baldacci. Screened at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, the film also stars Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Judy Davis, Scott Glenn, Dennis Haysbert, and Richard Jenkins. It was also the last screen appearance of E. G. Marshall. The scenes in the museum were filmed in the Walters Art Museum, where Whitney is copying a painting of El Greco, "Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata"

<i>Hang Em High</i> 1968 film

Hang 'Em High is a 1968 American revisionist Western film directed by Ted Post and written by Leonard Freeman and Mel Goldberg. It stars Clint Eastwood as Jed Cooper, an innocent man who survives a lynching; Inger Stevens as a widow who helps him; Ed Begley as the leader of the gang that lynched Cooper; and Pat Hingle as the federal judge who hires him as a Deputy U.S. Marshal.

<i>Rawhide</i> (TV series) American Western television series

Rawhide is an American Western television series starring Eric Fleming and Clint Eastwood. The show aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights from January 9, 1959, to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965, until December 7, 1965, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes. The series was produced and sometimes directed by Charles Marquis Warren, who also produced early episodes of Gunsmoke. The show is remembered by many for its theme song, "Rawhide".

<i>A Perfect World</i> 1993 crime drama film by Clint Eastwood

A Perfect World is a 1993 American thriller crime drama film directed by Clint Eastwood. It stars Kevin Costner as an escaped convict who takes a young boy hostage and attempts to escape on the road with the child. Eastwood co-stars as a Texas Ranger in pursuit of the convict.

<i>Dirty Harry</i> (film series) American action film series

Dirty Harry is an American neo-noir action thriller film series featuring San Francisco Police Department Homicide Division Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan. There are five films: Dirty Harry (1971), Magnum Force (1973), The Enforcer (1976), Sudden Impact (1983) and The Dead Pool (1988). Clint Eastwood portrayed Callahan in all five films and directed Sudden Impact.

<i>Changeling</i> (film) 2008 film by Clint Eastwood

Changeling is a 2008 American mystery crime drama film directed, produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by J. Michael Straczynski. The story was based on real-life events, specifically the 1928 Wineville Chicken Coop murders in Mira Loma, California. It stars Angelina Jolie as a woman united with a boy who she realizes is not her missing son. When she tries to demonstrate that to the police and city authorities, she is vilified as delusional, labeled as an unfit mother and confined to a psychiatric ward. The film explores themes of child endangerment, female disempowerment, political corruption, and mistreatment of mental health patients.

<i>J. Edgar</i> 2011 film by Clint Eastwood

J. Edgar is a 2011 American biographical drama film based on the career of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, directed, produced and scored by Clint Eastwood. Written by Dustin Lance Black, the film focuses on Hoover's life from the 1919 Palmer Raids onward. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role along with Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Josh Lucas, and Judi Dench, and features Adam Driver in his film debut.

<i>The Mule</i> (2018 film) 2018 film directed by Clint Eastwood

The Mule is a 2018 American crime drama film starring and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also produced with Dan Friedkin, Jessica Meier, Tim Moore, Kristina Rivera, and Bradley Thomas. The screenplay, written by Nick Schenk, is based on the 2014 The New York Times article "The Sinaloa Cartel's 90-Year-Old Drug Mule" by Sam Dolnick, which recounts the story of Leo Sharp, a World War II veteran in his 80s who became a drug courier for the Sinaloa Cartel.

References

  1. 1 2 3 True Crime at Box Office Mojo
  2. ↑ "True Crime". Rotten Tomatoes .
  3. ↑ "True Crime". Metacritic .
  4. ↑ "Find CinemaScore" (Type "True Crime" in the search box). CinemaScore . Retrieved February 19, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.