Veronica Guerin Release Date: March 16, 2004 Starring: Cate Blanchett, Ciaran Hinds, Colin Farrell Directed by: Joel Schumacher (TOUCHSTONE, $29.99)
MOVIE: DISC:
THE MOVIE: It’s certainly some feat to tell the story of a real-life woman and strip all the humanity from her. This Joel Schumacher–directed drama about Irish journalist Veronica Guerin (Cate Blanchett), whose tireless work to expose Dublin’s drug trade led to her 1996 killing, suffers from its own slickness. Blanchett’s wash-and-go reporter hair is too perfectly effortless. The crusader-at-play bits are too obviously crafted to reveal “personality.” And the film’s final shot of the dying journalist is too eager to shock (and tacky as hell). Never do we get a feel for the woman or why she takes so many risks—“I’m a reporter, it’s my job” only goes so far.
THE DISC: In the making-of featurette, the mostly Irish cast reflect on the impact Guerin’s work had on their country. Schumacher and writers Carol Doyle and Mary Agnes Donoghue provide commentary; producer Jerry Bruckheimer provides “A Conversation With Jerry Bruckheimer.” Don’t miss footage of the real-life Guerin accepting a journalism award; the woman practically crackled with intensity.
—Kelly Borgeson
Our First Impression:
Guerin deserves a tribute, but she deserves a better one than this. read more
DISC:
