Sadly, I could not attend the AFI premiere of Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell” last night in Los Angeles, but the reviews are in from California-based critics and, unlike, say, “Million Dollar Baby” or “Mystic River,” it doesn’t look like ‘Jewell’ which will shape-shift the cinematic year. No, the film currently has a respectable 69 Metascore (based on 7 reviews) and an 89% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Expect more reviews to come in once it screens in New York and Boston during the coming weeks. For now, all we have are reactions of only a handful of critics, most of which are praising Paul Walter Hauser’s lead performance.
And so, here we are, ‘tis the end of the road for most of us film critics, as only Sam Mendes’ “1917” is left to be screened (unless you want to count J.J. Abrams’ “The Rise of Skywalker”) and Eastwood has, somewhat, entered the awards fray with "‘Jewell.’ Of note: Eastwood hasn’t really had a major critical hit since 2006’s “Letters From Iwo Jima.” Don’t ask me why since I thought some of the ensuing movies he released afterwards were very worthy additions to the Eastwood canon (“Gran Torino.,” “Changeling,” “American Sniper,” “Sully,” “The Mule”)
The 89-year-old Eastwood has built up a considerable fanbase over the last five decades. His name is now synonymous and represents adherent conservative values for his viewers, they will go see whatever movie he directs or stars in just based on those beliefs alone. However, more importantly, his last film (“The Mule”) proved Eastwood he was still in fine artistic form at the twilight of his life, it was his best movie this decade and a worthy addition to his iconic filmography.
“Richard Jewell” is Eastwood’s 36th film as a director and will be released on December 13th