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 doesn'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 <POS> a thoughtful human story </POS> in which the characters come before the shoot-outs . isaiah washington <POS> has a break-out performance </POS> as frank beacham , and scenes with him and his weary wife ( lisa gay hamilton ) are <POS> truly heartfelt moments </POS> . 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 <POS> hands down , the most enjoyable segments of the film </POS> are when james woods is on camera . playing the big boss alan mann , woods and eastwood <POS> create amusing chemistry and laugh-out-loud punchlines </POS> . 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 <POS> successful </POS> with colorful character portraits that he didn't need to switch lanes . true crime is <POS> a tension-building , intriguing drama showcase for the talented director and star </POS> . this is a road block he could have easily dismissed ( i furrow my brow ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
