So, having a soft spot the fourth estate, when I heard what this movie was about, I got in line. I love most of the movies that deal with news guys, particular the state of the news industry, especially investigative journalism. I truly believe that a free press is an essential part of a free society since they keep everyone in line. Except tabloids. They can all die a thousand deaths.
Anyway, Kill The Messenger is about a San Jose Mercury News reporter who, during a fairly routine story, gets handed a grand jury testimony that says that the crack epidemic of the 80s and 90s was helped along by the CIA as it turned a blind eye to smugglers who were assisting the Contras in Nicaragua. The drug sales were funding arms purchases that would be funded back to Nicaragua. At first, the story is a bombshell that catches the national interest. But very quickly, it all unravels as the government begins to harass him and his paper, and rival papers turn to discredit him. Very quickly, he becomes a pariah among the news industry as his paper does not back him. Eventually he is forced out of journalism and as we find out in the end, he was killed by two shots to the head that was ruled a suicide.
So basically, this is All The President's Men with a much more depressing ending. The movie is a little conspiracy theorist, but it does try to be fair by repeatedly mentioning that the plot was not necessarily hatched by the CIA. It is kind of intense, but the movie does not seem to have the urgency like many of its better predecessors. I just doesn't grab you and the movie suffers for it. It desperately wants to be more than it is, but ultimately falls kind of flat. It was worth the price of admission, but it is one of those movies you probably could wait for the DVD release. The high point is Jeremy Renner. He was not very well utilized as Hawkeye in the Marvel movies, but he has a very expressive face that does belie what he is thinking. I think he will eventually become quite the actor if he continues on this trajectory. I really enjoyed his performance without it being bombastic or calling attention to itself like Al Pacino or Joe Pesci. I am excited to see him tackle tougher material like this. Ultimately, this is a good movie that wants to be great. It has the right material, a very interesting plot, but ultimately falls flat. There are better news movies than this, but ultimately, it is worth a watch.
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