veteran actor clint eastwood has never looked as grizzled as he does in true crime , his latest directorial effort .
when steve everett ( his newest character ) gets angry at someone , he glares them down with those famous dirty harry eyes , furrows his brow and frowns like a grizzly bear who 's just lost his cubs .
eastwood has played some particularly despicable characters in his time , but everett could just take the cake .
he gets my vote , at least , partly because ` ev ' is a drunken affair - a - week womanizer who has many relationship problems , very few of which are with his wife ( diane venora ) .
when his colleague at the oakland tribune is in an ugly car wreck and dies , everett must take over for her at a vital interview session .
the interview is with frank beacham ( isaiah washington ) , a death - row inmate set to die at midnight for the murder of a pregnant convenience store clerk .
eastwood furrows his brow .
as everett gradually finds information , he realizes that beacham could very well be innocent .
he interviews a key witness ( michael jeter ) , who claims that he burst in the door at pocum 's foods because his car had overheated , only to see beacham standing over the dead woman 's body , blood on his suspenders , gun in hand .
but everett protests
: how could he have seen the gun , which was lowered by his side , with the potato chip rack in front of him ?
jeter does n't know what he 's talking about .
eastwood furrows his brow .
crinkled expressions and all
, clint is the centre of energy of true crime .
the film is by no means a standard action / suspense yarn , but a thoughtful human story in which the characters come before the shoot - outs .
isaiah washington has a break - out performance as frank beacham , and scenes with him and his weary wife ( lisa gay hamilton ) are truly heartfelt moments .
but the best scenes are ones that feature eastwood duking it out with those in authority over him .
denis leary , as everett 's editor and boss , has more than a few memorable moments of restrained anger ( you see , ev is sleeping with his wife ) .
but hands down ,
the most enjoyable segments of the film are when james woods is on camera .
playing the big boss alan mann , woods and eastwood create amusing chemistry and laugh - out - loud punchlines .
when true crime opts for a high - speed chase to the governer 's house at the finale , the quality of film - making takes an abrupt nosedive .
eastwood was so successful with colorful character portraits that he did n't need to switch lanes .
true crime is a tension - building , intriguing drama showcase for the talented director and star .
this is a road block he could have easily dismissed ( i furrow my brow ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
a thoughtful human story hands down , the most enjoyable segments of the film has a break - out performance truly heartfelt moments a tension - building , intriguing drama showcase for the talented director and star create amusing chemistry and laugh - out - loud punchlines successful