• Latest
Downton Abbey

Richard Jewell

December 24, 2019

How to Replace Vital Documents Lost or Damaged by Floods

September 19, 2023

9th-12th Grade Students Invited to Submit to Bennington College Young Writers Awards

September 19, 2023

Ten Key Facts to Know About Federal Disaster Assistance

September 19, 2023
African Queen (1951)

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

September 19, 2023
Just Some Thoughts

The Blessings of Fall

September 19, 2023
African Queen (1951)

Amadeus (1984)

September 12, 2023

Montpelier Food Pantry Now in City Center

September 12, 2023

Green Mountain Youth Symphony Fall 2023 Fundraising Appeal

September 12, 2023

Montpelier Commission for Recovery and Resilience Announced

September 12, 2023

Governor Phil Scott and Mental Health Officials Encourage Residents to Check In On Themselves and Others

September 12, 2023
African Queen (1951)

Meet John Doe (1941)

September 5, 2023
Just Some Thoughts

A Hidden Treasure

September 5, 2023
  • Home
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
Saturday, September 23, 2023
The World Online
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News & Features
    • Local News
    • Letters & opinions
    • George Shuman
    • Max’s View
    • Local Sports & Outdoors
    • Births
  • Calendar
    • Art Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Ongoing Events
  • Obituaries
  • Submit
    • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
    • Submit An Article To The World
    • Submit Letter To The Editor
    • Submit Sports News/Photo
    • Submit Birth Announcement
    • Submit Engagement Announcement
    • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Advertising
    • World Rates and Ad Sizes
    • World Distribution Map
    • World Deadlines
    • Audit and Reader Surveys
    • Advertising Inquiry
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ads
    • View Current Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News & Features
    • Local News
    • Letters & opinions
    • George Shuman
    • Max’s View
    • Local Sports & Outdoors
    • Births
  • Calendar
    • Art Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Ongoing Events
  • Obituaries
  • Submit
    • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
    • Submit An Article To The World
    • Submit Letter To The Editor
    • Submit Sports News/Photo
    • Submit Birth Announcement
    • Submit Engagement Announcement
    • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Advertising
    • World Rates and Ad Sizes
    • World Distribution Map
    • World Deadlines
    • Audit and Reader Surveys
    • Advertising Inquiry
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ads
    • View Current Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
The World Online
No Result
View All Result

Richard Jewell

3 Stars

vt-world by vt-world
December 24, 2019
in Max's View
0
Downton Abbey

I know what local police do. They patrol our streets looking for unsafe drivers and discouraging mischief. They answer distress calls so victims of thievery and violence have an option other than fear or vigilantism. The mission of local police is to keep our communities orderly and safe and they do an outstanding job.

What about federal law enforcement, though? The FBI, the CIA, the ATF, the NSA? What do they do for us? Our country was running just fine before any of these organizations were even created. So what do we need them for?

Clint Eastwood – our greatest libertarian filmmaker – has directed a scathing anti-FBI film.

“Richard Jewell” tells the upsetting story of a good guy who was treated like a bad guy by America’s true bad guys.

In the early 90’s, Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser) was an earnest Georgia do-gooder who hadn’t gotten the chance to do any good yet. He had worked a few rent-a-cop jobs, but his overzealousness hadn’t earned him any friends or promotions.

On July 27, 1996, Jewell was working security at a concert at Atlanta’s Centennial Park during the Olympics. He noticed an abandoned backpack under a bench. He called it a “suspicious package” and he was right. The pipe bomb killed two people but it would have killed dozens if Jewell hadn’t begun the evacuation process.

I definitely like this movie, but Clint Eastwood is about as subtle as a sledgehammer. The main villain is FBI agent Tom Shaw (Jon Hamm). He actually was at the Centennial Park concert like Richard Jewell. But Shaw wasn’t doing anything helpful. His job isn’t to protect and serve; his job is to bully and blame.

Initially, Richard Jewell is treated like the hero that he was. But because he fit an FBI “lone bomber” profile, the feds and the media turned against him and falsely accused him of the crime.

Even when the physical evidence objectively disproves their lone bomber theory, the FBI keeps coming after Jewell. Their job is to put suspects into the federal penitentiary, and they don’t let a little thing like the truth get in the way.

Paul Water Hauser is fantastic as Richard Jewell. With quiet strength, he expresses a range of awful emotions. He wants to believe that all law enforcement is good and wholesome. We watch as his life and his core values get shattered.

The world sees Richard Jewell as a fat bumpkin idiot. But Hauser plays him as a reasonably smart guy whose weakness is his blind respect for authority. By the end, he is forced to reckon with the unwelcome truth that he is a much better man than the federal agents who are working to destroy him.

The true hero is Jewell’s lawyer/friend Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell). He fights for his client when Jewell is too compliant to fight for himself.

Richard Jewell’s story had a happy ending. But Clint Eastwood gives us a lot to think about that isn’t so happy.

At one point, Jewell’s mother (Kathy Bates) pleads to Bill Clinton to step in and stop the investigation against his innocent son. But of course that didn’t happen. History has proven that the President of the United States isn’t nearly as powerful as federal law enforcement.

I don’t know exactly what the FBI, CIA, ATF, and NSA do for us. But I know what they are going to do to us. They are slowly turning America into an East German-style police surveillance state.

Previous Post

Norwich University Earns Architecture Award for Montpelier Playground Outdoor Classroom

Next Post

Can-struction Competition! Supports a Local Community Kitchen

Next Post
Can-struction Competition! Supports a Local Community Kitchen

Can-struction Competition! Supports a Local Community Kitchen

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This Week’s Ads

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
The World
403 US Route 302
Barre, VT 05641
Phone: (802) 479-2582

Copyright © 2019 The World Online. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CoolerAds.

No Result
View All Result
  • Art Exhibits
  • Audit and Reader Surveys
  • Births
  • Calendar
  • Contact Us
  • Daily Horoscope
  • Food & Recipe
  • Home
  • Obituaries
  • Ongoing Events
  • Pay Your Bill Here
  • Senior Living Edition
  • Showtimes
  • Submit Birth Announcement
  • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
  • Submit Engagement Announcement
  • Submit Listing to our Local Directory
  • Submit Sports News/Photo
  • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Summer Guide 2023
  • Testimonials
  • The World Coupons
  • Weather Forecast
  • World Deadlines
  • World Distribution Map
  • World Rate Card
  • World Rates and Ad Sizes
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
  • About Us
  • Vermont Lottery
  • Advertising Information
  • The World Staff
  • Advertising Inquiry
  • Submit Letter To The Editor
  • Local Directory
  • Poll Results
  • Local Deals
  • Classifieds
  • Submit An Article To The World
  • Events
  • The World – This Week’s Online Digital Edition
  • The World Auto & Sports

Copyright © 2019 The World Online. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CoolerAds.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In