True Crime (1999) ***1/2

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A distant relative of His Girl Friday, True Crime is about a reporter (Clint Eastwood) at the bottom of his career writing for a small news paper after botching a story. That's not his only problem, though. Steve (Eastwood) is a bit of an asshole. He lives for himself and his work, stopping to think about the consequences only after the deed is done. A set of circumstances leads to Steve being assigned a human interest story abut an inmate (Isaiah Washington) sentenced to death at midnight. While doing research for the piece it comes to light that the condemned man may be put to death for a crime he did not commit.


This is a well made film that runs at a nice pace. The beginning and the middle run smoothly as Steve goes through his day. It's intriguing at how a story materializes for the reporter. Even the prison interview scene, the obvious cheese in a film like this, is actually well written and acted. The problem with the film is that the ending, though giving the audience the obvious tension, seems a little bit of a cheat and plays out a bit to cliched. Not on the part of the actual execution, but in the way the case is broken open. It soils a film that runs at a great pace through its first and second acts.


It's not a typical Eastwood masterpiece, but it is an above average film that Eastwood tends to make when taking a break from his truly great works. It's a nice little thriller if you don't expect too much in the end.