I wish people would say why they give something one star. I try to explain my judgement. Is the movie poorly made? Is the acting awful? Do you think it’s well-made but disagree with the content or slant of the perspective of the creators? I like biopics, and I remember this. I felt very sorry for him, and I believe the whole disaster they made of his life was definitely avoidable, but I don’t know the inside of the story (because I wasn’t there, as most of us also were not there) to know if there is or isn’t just one person to push that blame on. I want to see this because Eastwood makes good movies, and because it’s my favourite genre. I will come back and say if it liked it in an edit. But it doesn’t mean I liked the perspective, and I’ll try to say so if that’s the case. It is just one movie maker’s perspective. At any rate, Richard deserved a movie about his ordeal. That much I do feel strongly about. Please explain why you feel this is a low-rate, one-star movie. If you actually watched it, that is.
I’m not sure what I may have said that seemed like a spoiler in my actual “review” below, because I didn’t reveal anything that we don’t already know historically, but I was asked to put my spoiler parts in spoiler brackets. So I think I have to put this entire piece in as a spoiler? I have always understood history to be unspoilable unless you live under a rock. Please don’t live under a rock.
EDIT: I enjoyed the movie. The acting was superb. I felt the same heartache for Richard as I always did. I don’t think the Press is bad. Reporting is necessary, especially where politicians are concerned! I’m not American, but I don’t believe the FBI is corrupt, but there are ambitious people who seem soulless in every line of work. I think this was a snowballing effect of tunnel vision and personal ambition, but the reporter who stared it all is also no longer here to add any further personal insight to her actions. This is one take on the story, and for the most part, as we saw it unfold in front of our eyes, this is what happened on the outside. Whether or not what went on inside the minds and through the actions of the key players in the FBI and the Press happened the way this movie shows us, we can’t know for certain. But something did go wrong, and it was human action that caused it. I believe the Press is very important, and there are hundreds of journalists who do their jobs with integrity, just as there are those integrity-driven people populating law enforcement. There are bad people in every line of work. This movie in no way changes my opinion of the news I take in or my feelings about the good that law enforcement does. I am just glad Richard’s story got told. My heart goes out to his mother, too, since I’m a single mom of one son. Thank you, uploaders.