Based on a true story, Jeremy Renner plays Gary Webb, a
reporter for a small newspaper. He
accidentally discovers evidence of the CIA’s involvement in the crack
epidemic. Basically the CIA worked with
crack dealers back in the 80s, and they used the profits to fund an illegal war
in Nicaragua. When Webb writes the
story, his paper runs it, and then the trouble starts.
It’s hard to talk about a movie like this without
referencing All the President’s Men.
There are a lot of similarities – a reporter out of his league, his
editor pushing him to get sources and make sure the story’s tight, intimidation
from the government, and exposing national corruption. For the first hour or so, that’s where it
seemed like this movie was going, and I was really enjoying it.
But late in the movie, there’s nowhere for the story to
go. The investigation is done and the
story is published, and the CIA stops going after him. There’s a good 20 minutes where nothing much
happens. The focus shifts to Webb and
his family, but the movie doesn’t do much with that. There are a couple of good scenes showing the
tension his family is under, and there is a really good scene where Webb is
confronted by his son for a past indiscretion.
But most of the time, I was bored.
Part of the problem is the story is anticlimactic. I’m not sure what they could have done
exactly to make the last half hour better.
I am glad they didn’t add anything like a car chase or shootout that
didn’t happen in real life. But at the
same time, it makes for a less exciting movie.
No comments:
Post a Comment