True Crime DVD

In TRUE CRIME, based on Andrew Klavan's novel, Clint Eastwood plays Steve Everett, a capable reporter who's nearly destroyed his career with alcohol and philandering. When he's assigned to do a human interest sidebar on Frank Beechum (Isaiah Washington), who's about to be executed for murder, Everett casually looks into the crime and quickly begins to see how shaky the evidence against Beechum is. As a director, Eastwood is a confident old hand here, and before he builds up the suspense (and don't worry, he will), he takes the time to delve deep into the lives of his characters and explore the sharp contrast between the cynical Everett, who neglects his family for his job, and the circumspect Beechum, whose greatest torment is not the proximity of his own death but the trauma he's causing his loving wife and daughter. Eastwood gives a wonderfully rich performance, and his rapport with James Woods and Denis Leary, as his newspaper bosses, gives the movie a welcome comic jolt. But the scenes of Beechum's family dealing with his fate are where the movie's overwhelming power lies. Eastwood and his screenwriters pull no punches, and it's difficult to bear witness to the painful, simple truth expressed in these scenes.

Theatrical release: March 19, 1999. The film was shot on location in Oakland, California, and the surrounding area. Most of the San Quentin interiors were shot on a set built at Manex Studios in Alameda. The action in Andrew Klavan's novel takes place in St. Louis, Missouri. Eastwood moved the setting to the San Francisco Bay Area. Everett's daughter in the film is played by Francesca Fisher-Eastwood, Eastwood's own daughter with Frances Fisher, who plays the tough prosecutor, Cecilia Nussbaum. Fisher costarred, as Ruth DeWitt Bukater, in the blockbuster TITANIC, with Bernard Hill (Warden Plunkitt), who played Captain Smith. Screenwriter Paul Brickman is best known for writing and directing RISKY BUSINESS. Diane Venora (Barbara Everett) played Charlie Parker's wife, Chan, in Eastwood's BIRD. Marissa Ribisi (Amy Wilson) is the sister of actor Giovanni Ribisi (SAVING PRIVATE RYAN) and made her film debut in Richard Linklater's DAZED AND CONFUSED. "Why Should I Care," the song Diana Krall sings over the closing credits, was cowritten by Eastwood, Carole Bayer Sager, and Linda Thompson. Eastwood's wife, Dina, has a small role as reporter Wilma Francis. Lucy Liu (CHARLIE'S ANGELS), billed as Lucy Alexis Liu, has a small role as a toy-store clerk.

True Crime Reviews:

"...Quietly poignant....TRUE CRIME is directed by Mr. Eastwood with righteous indignation and increasingly strong momentum..." -- Janet Maslin, New York Times

"...This is one of Eastwood's most fully realized performances..." -- Mike Clark, USA Today

"...A wickedly effective thriller....TRUE CRIME has a nice rhythm....Eastwood gives the movie a nice slow curve and fast break..." -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

"...A gleeful, cigar chomping performance from James Woods..." -- John Wrathall, Sight and Sound

"...[A] cannily Eastwood-flattering justice drama..." -- Rating: B -- Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

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