Kill the Messenger (2014)

Journalist Gary Webb, California 1996, started investigating CIA's role in the 1980s in getting crack cocaine to the black part of LA to get money and weapons to the Contras/freedom fighters in Nicaragua.

Director:

Michael Cuesta

Writers:

Peter Landesman, Gary Webb (book)

Stars:

Jeremy Renner, Robert Patrick, Jena Sims

3 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeremy Renner	...	Gary Webb
Robert Patrick	...	Ronald J. Quail
Jena Sims	...	Quail's Girlfriend
Robert Pralgo	...	L.A. Sheriff
Hajji Golightly	...	DEA Agent
Ted Huckabee	...	Bob
Mary Elizabeth Winstead	...	Anna Simons
Lucas Hedges	...	Ian Webb
Rosemarie DeWitt	...	Sue Webb
Matt Lintz	...	Eric Webb
Parker Douglas	...	Christine Webb
Kai Schmoll	...	Sacramento Journalist
Joshua Close	...	Rich Kline (as Josh Close)
Paz Vega	...	Coral Baca
Aaron Farb	...	Rafael Cornejo

Storyline

Based on the true story of journalist Gary Webb. The film takes place in the mid-1990s, when Webb uncovered the CIA's past role in importing huge amounts of cocaine into the U.S. that was aggressively sold in ghettos across the country to raise money for the Nicaraguan Contras' rebel army. Despite enormous pressure not to, Webb chose to pursue the story and went public with his evidence, publishing the series "Dark Alliance". As a result he experienced a vicious smear campaign fueled by the CIA. At that point Webb found himself defending his integrity, his family, and his life.

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Plot Keywords:

based on true story | journalist | nicaraguan contras | smear campaign | cocaine | 

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Taglines:

Based on a story that needs to be told.

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and drug content

Did You Know?

Trivia

When working on the newsroom sets inside the Georgia Archives, the filmmakers and actors were all too aware that the milieu which the crew had painstakingly re-created was a vanished one; the profession and work environments that Gary Webb staked his reputation on and in, pursuing his leads in person, changed drastically in the years just following his efforts. Screenwriter Peter Landesman commented: "Newspapers don't have the resources they used to; they can't afford to spend a year on a story any more, and we now get superficial layers of understanding what is happening - especially with our government."

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Goofs

Immddiately after Webb's first meeting with Frank Wiel, there's a quick shot of an airport. The main aircraft in the shot, a 737, has winglets, which weren't used at the time of this story (mid-90s).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Richard Nixon: Public enemy number one in the United States is drug abuse. In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive.
Gerald Ford: For nearly a year, I have been devoting increasing attention to a problem which strikes at the very heart of our national well-being: Drug abuse.
Jimmy Carter: I did not condone any drug abuse, and we'll do everything possible to reduce this serious threat to our society.
Ronald Reagan: Drugs are menacing our society. They're threatening our values and undercutting...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Just before the closing credits, there is a short video showing the real Gary Webb at home with his children.

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Connections

Featured in Crack in America (2015)

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Soundtracks

Te Vi
Written by Joaquin Diaz
Performed by Jesus A. Perez-Alvarez
Courtesy of LMS Records

User Reviews

Risking for the Truth

To be exact, Kill the Messenger isn't mainly about the CIA conspiracy which was exposed in 1996. This is more of Gary Webb's journey of unraveling some secrets behind the story and facing the consequences of revealing too much classified information to the public. The film shifts from conspiracy thriller to familial drama to give a clear statement of what struggles do honest journalists usually get. The direction seems to have higher interests when it comes to the conspiracy thriller mode, but when it eases down, it doesn't have the same enthusiasm. Thankfully, the star of the film, Jeremy Renner, carries the whole thing, making the overall experience absolutely engrossing.

The film isn't really that straightforward when it comes to its historical side, though the first half does have a keen focus on picking up huge details from one source to another. The film triumphs when it only stays to that root, taking us to a process of how journalism works. But that point didn't get much of the flow, because again the whole message of this film is the danger of getting into this situation. The other half of the movie concerns Webb's protection with his family, while it is important to get to know about his personal life, it sort of feels like a stretched intrusion to what else interesting happening. The rest of the story, specifically the effects of the exposé to the public, remains to be a series of real life footage of mobs and interviews. The film comes to life once again when they face the actual consequences instead of verbalizing their paranoia.

It could have been clunky, but the film totally benefits having Jeremy Renner. Even at its weakest scenes, the actor tend to bring real depth and tension, joining the audience to what his role is going through. This performance alone can be an instant recommendation to its entirety. The direction, as said, seems to spare its energy more on the investigation and suspense, which could have been straightforward in reporting the facts and putting the melodrama to the sidelines. The craft is solid as well, there are some strong production and stunning shots to be found.

Kill the Messenger is more ambitious in its sentiments of valuing the truth and going against political corruption, but it doesn't satisfy enough to reporting its history, especially when the movie is really good at depicting it. It just eventually becomes a cautionary film for journalists about exposing a vulnerable truth, showing us the main character and his family possibly at risk after what he has done. It works when it finally acknowledges that the government is now their enemy and building suspense behind Webb's back, but when it focuses to the drama of his personal life, it doesn't seem to fit on the pieces, however whatever made it still thoroughly watchable, again, is the acting of Renner. This is the type of merit that steals much of the value of the film, even if it's flawed in storytelling, the appeal just keeps on going.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site Production Notes

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 October 2014 (Hungary)

Also Known As:

Kill the Messenger

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$941,809, 12 October 2014

Gross USA:

$2,450,846

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,218,973

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sierra / Affinity, Bluegrass Films, The Combine

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color Color (archive footage) Black and White (archive footage)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1