“Look at you!”

From Richard Jewell.

While working as a supply guy at a small business law firm in 1986, Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser) meets and befriends lawyer Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell).  Richard’s lifelong dream has always been to be a police officer, but after ten years and several failed security and deputy jobs, Richard finds himself living at home with his mother Bobi (Kathy Bates) and working as a security officer at Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.  When Richard sees an abandoned backpack near the concert area, he pushes the police in the park to follow protocol and move people away from what he believes is a bomb.   When the bomb squad arrives, they discover three pipe bombs stuffed inside, so Richard, the police, and the other security guards push the crowd away from the bomb just minutes before it explodes.  While initially heralded as a hero by the media for discovering the bomb, Richard quickly becomes the suspect in the FBI investigation when a former employer contacts them with suspicions of Richard’s desire to seek glory.  Agents Shaw (Jon Hamm) and Bennet (Ian Gomez) begin to investigate Richard who seems to perfectly fit the bomber profiler, however when Atlanta Journal reporter Kathy Scruggs (Olivia Wilde) hears rumor of a suspect, she flirts and sleeps with Shaw in exchange for the suspect’s name.  When Kathy releases the story that Richard is a suspect, he’s convicted by the media in a whirlwind of probables.  Richard reaches out to his old friend Bryant to help prove his innocence and Bryant agrees.  While the entire country stands ready to convict Richard, Bryant and his secretary (Nina Arianda) push to prove Richards innocence against the seemingly-unbeatable FBI and media.

Based on the true story of the Atlanta bombing in July 1996 and Jewell’s unofficial trial that played out in the media.   Rockwell and Hauser both give strong performances alone and shine brilliantly when sharing the screen.  While this movie has received criticism from some on the portrayal of certain characters, it genuinely captures the truly horrific, life-destroying landslide that FBI agents and reporters used to wash away innocence and due process.  Richard Jewell is a powerful reminder of how easily the media can be used to hurt instead of inform.

| Rated: R | Running Time: 129 minutes |Genre: drama/biography |

||Family Viewing||Cursing: 5* of 10|Nudity: 0 of 10|Sexuality: 0 of 10|Gore: 3 of 10

|AVAILABLE FOR HOME VIEWING|