ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Clint Eastwood

Richard Jewell: The End of the Innocence

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They’re a common sight around malls, retail stores, and companies these days. They help make sure things go smoothly yet are often ignored or make fun of. Of course, I’m referring to the humble security guard.

Perhaps the most infamous of all security personnel in the past 25 years has to be Richard Jewell. For the younger generation, his name is not one that will likely register as important. Director Clint Eastwood wants to change that with his latest film Richard Jewell. It is a tale of heroism, woe, and frustration that will reward the patient filmgoer and serves as a reminder of life before the world’s innocence was shattered one fateful evening.

Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser) was a rather portly individual who lived in the Atlanta area and had a dream of getting into law enforcement. He was good with guns, extremely good at remembering things, but absolutely lousy in people to people relationships. His track record wasn’t the best either, partially due to the people he was trying to protect making fun of or simply ignoring him.

At the opening of the film, Jewell’s trying to make ends meet as a supply clerk in a law firm. He encounters Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell), a no-nonsense lawyer who doesn’t take anything from anyone, including elected officials. The two briefly get to know each other over candy bars and a discussion in a video arcade before Jewell takes another job, this time as security detail at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. There, he helps protect a music venue inside Centennial Park, the hub of action outside the sporting venues.

All is well for the first few concerts until one fateful evening when Jewell spots a suspicious backpack under a bench near the sound and lighting tower. He calls the police over to check (this is an international event, after all) and begins getting people out of the way. Suddenly the backpack explodes, raining fire and shrapnel throughout the park. Two people were killed and over 100 injured, transforming the capital city of Georgia instantaneously. Jewell goes home that evening, content that he helped keep the situation from being significantly worse.

The next day, he discovers that his observation and quick thinking has won him fame in the eyes of the world. People want to talk to him on television, people cheer when they see him, and he becomes an instant celebrity. Meanwhile, the FBI begins to look into who planted the backpack and called 911 with a warning about the bomb. They don’t have any real leads, but after acquiring information from Jewell’s past, they suddenly begin to think he was the culprit, doing it for fame and notoriety. With that, Richard’s quiet lifestyle (he lives in an apartment building with his mother [played by the always excellent Kathy Bates]) is completely shattered as the FBI does everything possible to make him the world’s biggest enemy.

Usually such situations are kept fairly quiet. However, Kathy Scruggs, a rather arrogant and pushy reporter from the Atlanta Journal newspaper (played with realistic smarminess by Olivia Wilde) is able to coerce one of the FBI detectives to inform her who they’re going after. They have a paper to print, you know. When she finds out, she makes the FBI’s intentions known to the world. 

Cue circus music.

Jewell suddenly cannot move more than 15 feet without a reporter yelling questions at him or hearing the shutters of cameras go off. He doesn’t know what to do. At this point, he reaches for the one person who might be able to help him–the lawyer he stocked with candy bars a few months earlier. Since then, Watson Bryant has gone into his own practice and decides to help the poor guy out. The question is whether the mass of humanity descending on Jewell or the FBI will destroy him first. 

Richard Jewell is a film that, for me, hit very close to home. You see, I was at Centennial Park a few hours before the bomb exploded. I played in the fountains and snapped a few 35mm pictures before heading back to South Carolina. That night, my friends and I huddled around a television set, aghast at the video news outlets were showing of the aftermath and thankful to God that we left when we did. I also distinctly remember the media’s evisceration of Jewell and how he was made to look like had the whole bombing planned (in reality, Eric Rudolph confessed to it a few months later). I remember feeling sorry for the guy but had no idea how much his life changed as a result of the FBI and media. Of course, the film shows Jewell as an avid owner of guns and is extremely knowledgeable about security–things the FBI used against him. Bryant tells him to not say anything, but he keeps talking (since he’s so big into law enforcement), making things worse on everyone around him. It’s only after he realizes how the ordeal has hurt his mother that he finally gets the nerve to confront the FBI directly. 

As for the film itself, it’s very good and has some incredible acting. Bates was nominated for a Golden Globe recently for her role as Jewell’s mom Bobi. Hauser and Rockwell are great in their individual roles but magical when they share the screen. You see and feel their relationship build, change, and eventually transform each other. Munn seems to me to be the weak link, but after giving it some thought, she adds a necessary layer to transform the film from ho-hum to must-see. And this is a film that deserves to be seen and its voice heard for past, present, and future generations. 

That evening in Centennial Park, anyone off the street could walk in–there were police around, but no layer of security other than presence. One week later, I returned to Atlanta to see a handball match and found a completely different city. There was a feeling of nervousness everywhere. Security was beefed up considerably. In fact, in order to visit the park again, I had to go through two separate bag checks. The innocence was gone, never to be reclaimed again. 

At one point on this planet, there was innocence and no need for protection. Adam and Eve were sinless at first, having their pick of whatever they wanted to do and to eat. Sure, God warned them not to eat from one specific tree, but there was no security guard around for enforcement. When they finally gave in and tasted of the forbidden fruit, things changed. The innocence was lost. God, after a stern lecture, kicked them out of Eden–and added security detail in the form of a flaming sword so they could never get in again. Sin is costly, but it doesn’t have to rule in us thanks to Jesus and his birth, life, death, and return to life once more. He’s ready to forgive all those who call on him to do so.

Make sure you put Richard Jewell on your must-see list this year. It’s thrilling, harrowing, and a sobering reminder of innocence lost–both individually and as a society.

Special features include both “The Real Story of Richard Jewell” and “The Making of Richard Jewell” with many of the principles (Eastwood, Hamm, Rockwell, Bates, etc.) included.

Sully: In the Moment

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sullyOn January 15, 2009, U.S. Airways pilot Chesley”Sully” Sullenberger and his co-pilot, Jeff Skiles,  were flying a commercial airliner from LaGuardia for a standard run, the same way Sullenberger had flown for forty years. When his Airbus A320 struck a herd of geese that destroyed the engines, Sullenberger’s quick thinking landed the plane safely in the Hudson River. The pilot’s decisive flying decisions had saved 155 passengers but in the days that followed, the investigation called his character and experience into question. Sully is the story of one man’s heroism, and his vindication in the face of those who weren’t there.

Todd Komarnicki’s script is based on Sullenberger’s own book, Highest Duty, wrapping a pair of all-time greats, director Clint Eastwood and lead actor Tom Hanks, in a story that inspires and challenges the audience to examine their own thinking. The story itself is straight forward: we meet Sullenberger (Hanks) and Skiles (Eckhart) in the aftermath, as the National Transportation Safety Board digs into the events surrounding the water landing.

What unfolds over the next two hours is an exploration of Sullenger the man and the pilot, through a series of flashbacks to his previous experiences flying, current conversations with his wife (Laura Linney) and Skiles, and the interviews before a board of NTSB agents (Yes, Dear’s Mike O’Malley and Law & Order: Criminal Intent’s Jamey Sheridan). We see his inner struggles, including the nightmares that involve how the landing could have gone; we hear the way that his clinical mind attempts to unpack and sort through what happened in those 208 seconds. All of this is carefully depicted by the power of Hanks’ performance, the Komarnicki script that provides facts (but not too many) and witty banter, and the direction of Eastwood who has proved himself to be a worthy director of films that examine heroism.

sully2Because I am not much of a news watcher or avid flyer, I was oblivious to the way that the investigation played out, and found myself moved by the way that Sullenger found himself on the spot. The NTSB is certainly the antagonist here, as their inclination is to search for human error. But when their findings are fueled by technical information and by statistical findings, our view of the likable Sullenberger is confronted with a mountain of data.

And here lies the principle of the film: not every moment can be explained away with facts. Some require the nearly holy recognition of the human condition – we have the capacity for wonderful acts of courage and moments outside of the realm of the expected. One might even call them … miraculous.

When we examine the story of Sullenberger – that is, the collected fragments brought together in Komarnicki’s script, we recognize that Sullenberger acted the way that he did because he had the forty years of flying experience that he did. We can see that his calm demeanor, his strong decision-making, his soul – these components made the miracle possible. Sullenberger’s life up until January 15, 2009 was preparing him for this moment. Without those other moments, maybe Sully doesn’t become a hero; maybe if someone else is flying the plane… there’s no movie to be made.

A day after seeing the film, I keep asking myself: what moment or moments has my life lead me to so far? What situation am I uniquely gifted to handle? What calling has God placed on my life, that the hurt, joy, experience, education, and skills I have are all divinely ordained for?

This is the beauty of Sully: when the moment came, Chesley Sullenberger was ready. And the passengers and the crew will be forever grateful.

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Special features include a deeper look at Sullenberger in “Sully Sullenberger: The Man Behind the Miracle,” especially his character; “Moment By Moment: Averting Disaster on the Hudson” as the real-life Sullenberger, Skiles, and traffic controller Patrick Harten walk the audience through what happened; and “Neck Deep in the Hudson: Shooting Sully” as Eastwood and two producers (Frank Marshall and Allyn Stewart) show how the ‘splashdown’ was shot on film. 

American Sniper: War Costs Us All Something

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american sniperRudderless Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) sees footage of the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings and goes from thrill-seeker to U.S. Navy Seal. While Kyle’s life appears to a blend of the thrills and the honor, Clint Eastwood’s film raises the story to levels of greater nuance. For all of its criticism for being a “hoorah” kind of film about military glory at all costs, the film itself shows the power of Kyle’s efforts and the costs of the sacrifices he made.

Just seconds after marrying Taya Renae (Sienna Miller), Kyle gets shipped off to Iraq in response to 9/11. His first kills (the ones shown in the trailer) set off a lifetime of internal struggle as he wrestles with his honor, duty, and service as a sniper protecting his fellow American soldiers, and the tearing of his soul as he takes the lives of others.

Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.–Genesis 9:6

Kyle ends up battling Mustafa (a fictional composite of Iraqi snipers who ends up making the film itself feel more personal), kill for kill, situation by situation, shot after shot. This is where the visual explosiveness of the film comes from, the action/thriller of the cinematic experience. It’s gripping for sure, and I remember that seeing it for the first time, it held me tight for hours after the credits rolled.

This is not like the war movies I remember watching sporadically growing up. It’s filled with dread and hopelessness, reasonably desolate, shot in darker, sandier hues.  The ‘victories’ don’t feel like winning, and the losses feel like they’ll never be overcome. Soldiers Kyle knows fall, and even the ‘enemy combatants’ who lose their lives carry more weight than the bad guys gunned down in the latest Liam Neeson flick.

american sniper 3But the truth is that the internal tension for Cooper’s Kyle, and for his relationship with Taya Renae, is even more moving. Kyle has two experiences in non-combat that make the film for me, the first occurs in-between tours with a man who credits Kyle with his life and the second occurs as he’s crossing paths with his own brother in transition. The first man approaches Kyle’s work as if he is part-angel/part-saint, while Kyle is shaken by being perceived as heroic; the second situation shows that what Kyle has marginalized in his own life has taken root and twisted his brother.

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.–Romans 12:19

I’m not sure, having read up on both Kyle and Eastwood, that Kyle would love the way Eastwood has depicted the internal conflict. But there’s clearly a difference in the cinematic Kyle’s perspective from his first tour to his last. Eastwood can clearly see the way that war hurts us, leaves us scars, even if the killing is done on behalf of the greater good or the innocent. 

american sniper 2Honestly, watching the film, I’m reminded of my conversations in high school when I was learning about Augustine’s Just War Theory. I’m reminded of the way that people have discussed the ways that Dietrich Bonhoeffer, as a pacifist, wrestled with the decision concerning assassinating Adolf Hitler. And I remember the startling end of Zero Dark Thirty, marketed as the “greatest manhunt in history” that culminated in the costs of such an obsession, violence, and methods.

Eastwood isn’t glorifying war. He’s not “hoorahing” his way through this one. Yes, he acknowledges that American values and security would not be the same without men like Chris Kyle who bravely, boldly, and authoritatively lay their lives down for the protection of others. But he wants to remind us that this costs us something, that war is not cheap, that lives matter even if they’re not the lives of people we know or like.

Watching American Sniper, I’m impressed by Eastwood, Bradley, and by people like Kyle. But I’m also reminded that Jesus’ words about violence and taking revenge are for our good. We can’t handle the responsibility of taking lives; we aren’t meant to be God, who decides who lives or dies. The cost is too great when we’re put (or forced into) those kinds of decisions.

Sorrowfully, for Chris Kyle, it cost he and his family everything. But it’s not like our hands are clean. Just like buying something produced somewhere that labor is unfairly provided with little-to-no compensation makes us guilty, our freedom at the hands of people like Kyle who are protecting us, makes us guilty, too. We have freedom because of men like Kyle, and until wars cease, we’ll be complicit in their struggle.

What will it take for us to make a change?

Pick up your copy of American Sniper on Blu-ray/DVD at Amazon.