buckee1

True Crime

A 20-year-old pregnant student is murdered in the small town of Richmond, California. Two witnesses identify Frank Beechum (Isiah Washington) as the shooter & he awaits his death by lethal injection on San Quentin's Death Row, all the while proclaiming his innocence. Enter Everett (Clint Eastwood) a conspiracy smelling former New York reporter that use to be a credible journalist. That is until his affair with the bottle & a very wrong hunch involving a convicted rapist did his reputation in. Given the sudden & tragic death of the reporter assigned to cover the Beechum execution, Everett is called into action. His job is merely to interview Beechum & report on the subsequent execution. While interviewing Beechum, Everett becomes convinced of his innocence & begins a high-speed investigation of the facts surrounding the case. The problem is Beechums' trial was held six years ago & his appeals have all been exhausted. Add to that the lack of additional evidence & the fact that Beechum is scheduled to be executed in a few hours! The clock is ticking away on Beechum's life & once again Everett's career is on the line. Is Everett really on to something or is this going to be another wild goose chase. Only time will tell & there's not much of that left.

Audio:

5.1 Dolby Digital presentation. Nothing really spectacular or outstanding to deliver in the film's score or soundtrack. Additionally, there's not much to deliver in the way of special effects. A few screeching tires here & there, gunshots & screams are the most exciting audio bits you'll experience.

Video:

The anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen presentation is adequate for the film. The image is very clean with no imperfections noted.

Extras:

There is a 10 minute documentary on the making of True Crime, A trailer, A music video by Diana Krall & a very boring segment entitled True Crime Stories. While the information supplied in this segment is true, it's delivery, leaves a lot to be desired. Essentially, a reporter did what Eastwood's character does in real life for a man wrongly imprisoned. The subject matter could have been a lot more interesting had the reporter not been so deadpan in his delivery. That coupled with moments from the film (that you just saw in the previous documentary) that you've now seen three times didn't help the situation either.

Overall:

This is a suspenseful thriller that attempts to deliver the goods in 2 hours & 7 minutes. Did it do it? I think so. The real standout performances that make the film worth watching are those from Denis Leary & the ever-brilliant James Woods. Actually, if it hadn't been for James Woods, I would not have enjoyed the film nearly as much. On a rental /purchase scale, I'd have to lean towards renting this one. Good film, just don't think I'd want to keep it.


[This message has been edited by buckee1 (edited 11-24-1999).]