By Kyle Osborne
There’s something appealing about thrillers involving journalists—they’re the ultimate whistle-blowers. Great films, ranging from ‘All The President’s Men” to “The Insider”, have given us portraits of “The Lone Crusader for Truth” putting his reputation if not his very life in jeopardy to expose the evil doings of corporations or governments.
Like those other films, “Kill The Messenger” is based on a true story and contains all of those familiar elements. And while it doesn’t reach the narrative heights of the best movies in the genre, it still presents an interesting if not quite enthralling tale of a flawed journalist with the best of intentions.
Jeremy Renner plays Gary Webb, a reporter for the comparatively small-time San Jose Mercury-News in the mid 1990’s. Through a femme-fatale-like source who seems almost too hammy to be real, Webb learns that the CIA is importing crack cocaine into inner cities, addicting an already troubled demographic, and then funneling the profits to the rebel forces of Nicaragua. Depending on your age this sounds vaguely familiar.
And here the movie takes a drive through cliché-land, with the usual arguments between reporter and editor, un-provable sources coming forth in the shadows, and sketchy looking characters following the reporter who, by the way, is also losing the respect of his neglected family along the way.
Webb’s stories initially earned the respect of his peers and the enmity of government types, which is par for the course. What’s different in this case is that major newspapers like The Washington Post ran counter reports denouncing Webb’s lack of named sources.
Renner does superb work as the embattled Webb who is losing everything, including, perhaps, his mind. Even though Webb’s fate can be easily looked up on Wikipedia, I’ll resist revealing the outcome of his embattled existence after printing the story of his life.
As a history primer on its subject, “Kill The Messenger” skillfully tells the specific story—but the familiar template feels a bit shopworn and you’ll leave the theater appreciating better films about investigative journalists.
A good performance and a new look at an old story, “Kill The Messenger” gets 2 ½ out of 4 Stars. It’s rated “R”. Running time 1 hour 52 minutes.