True Crime (1999)

Can an over-the-hill journalist uncover the evidence that can prove a death row inmate's innocence just hours before his execution?

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Andrew Klavan (novel), Larry Gross (screenplay)

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Isaiah Washington, LisaGay Hamilton

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Steve Everett
Isaiah Washington	...	Frank Louis Beechum
LisaGay Hamilton	...	Bonnie Beechum
James Woods	...	Alan Mann
Denis Leary	...	Bob Findley
Bernard Hill	...	Warden Luther Plunkitt
Diane Venora	...	Barbara Everett
Michael McKean	...	Reverend Shillerman
Michael Jeter	...	Dale Porterhouse
Mary McCormack	...	Michelle Ziegler
Hattie Winston	...	Angela Russel
Penny Bae Bridges	...	Gail Beechum
Francesca Eastwood	...	Kate Everett (as Francesca Fisher-Eastwood)
John Finn	...	Reedy
Laila Robins	...	Patricia Findley

Storyline

Steve Everett, Oakland Tribune journalist with a passion for women and alcohol, is given the coverage of the upcoming execution of murderer Frank Beachum. His attractive colleague Michelle died in a car accident the night before. Bob Findley, Steve's boss and husband to Steve's current affair, wants him dead and gone as soon as possible. When Steve stumbles across the possibility of Frank Beachum being innocently on death row, Bob feels his time to have come. Now Steve only has a few hours left to prove the innocence of Frank and to be right with this theory, as he definitely will be history if he's not.

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Plot Keywords:

reporter | execution | death row | needle | recovering alcoholic | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violence

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 March 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

True Crimes

Filming Locations:

Cotati, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$55,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,276,109, 21 March 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$16,635,339, 23 May 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.,The Zanuck Company,Malpaso Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the novel, the death-row inmate was white. Clint Eastwood changed his race for the film to "make it more relevant". The book author deliberately chose to make the inmate white because it would be more believable that people would fight for him as witnessed in the Illinois State Freedom Project.

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Goofs

When picking the lock to Michell's door, it is a full steel door in a street, but when he enters he comes in through a glass door from a backyard.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dr. Roger Waters: [examining Beechum] Blood pressure: 120 over 70. Normal. All right, open wide. Looks fine. Healthy as a horse. Just one more thing, Luther.
Warden Luther Plunkitt: You got to whiz in the cup, Frank. Then we're done.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: True Crime/Ravenous/The King and I/Forces of Nature/The Harmonists (1999)

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Soundtracks

Why Should I Care
Written by Clint Eastwood, Carole Bayer Sager and Linda Thompson
Produced by David Foster and Tommy LiPuma
Performed by Diana Krall
Courtesy of The Verve Music Group

User Reviews

Unfocused

There is a good movie in here someplace trying to get out. The main problem is a lack of focus. Is it a character study of an unlikable guy? Is it a murder mystery? Is it a polemic against capital punishment? The answer to all three is "yes." As a result, it does all of them reasonably well, but none of them as well as it might. I will give Eastwood credit for taking on a character who is so difficult to like. Of course, I must join the legions on IMDb decrying -- and laughing at -- Clint for making his character a ladies man. Maybe if he had been hitting on 55 year olds instead of hot 30 years olds it would have been more credible -- and less distasteful. But as a screed against the death penalty this movie is effective, though the deck is stacked because the accused is innocent as well as likable.