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| Jeremy Renner steals the show in Kill the Messenger |
Love the Messenger
Rotten Tomatoes Plot: Two-time Academy Award nominee Jeremy Renner ("The Bourne Legacy") leads an all-star cast in a dramatic thriller based on the remarkable true story of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Webb. Webb stumbles onto a story which leads to the shady origins of the men who started the crack epidemic on the nation's streets... and further alleges that the CIA was aware of major dealers who were smuggling cocaine into the U.S., and using the profits to arm rebels fighting in Nicaragua. Despite warnings from drug kingpins and CIA operatives to stop his investigation, Webb keeps digging to uncover a conspiracy with explosive implications. His journey takes him from the prisons of California to the villages of Nicaragua to the highest corridors of power in Washington, D.C. - and draws the kind of attention that threatens not just his career, but his family and his life.
"Some stories are too true to tell," but thank goodness for Michael Cuesta's superb thriller, Kill the Messenger. It allows us a chance to stand in awe at Renner's Oscar-worthy performance as a tenacious reporter who sniffs around the wrong garbage can, then pays the consequences. The first half is absolutely terrific; and Renner is amazing throughout... although the film turns depressing towards the end, as Webb's story starts to unravel (in perceived conflict with the truth.) I'm not keen on conspiracy theories; but even I had to shudder at how close this one hit to home. Scary stuff.
Grade: B
