Rated R for language and drug content; 112 minutes -- Call the Cinema at 785-452-9868 for show times and pricing.
Based on the tragic true story of investigative reporter Gary Webb, this film by director Michael Cuesta is completely absorbing and suspenseful. The first half follows Webb’s pursuit of a “big story,” one that will expose the CIA (in partnership with the Contra rebels in Nicaragua) actually encouraged the crack cocaine epidemic that ravaged our nation in the ‘80’s, particularly inner-city African-American neighborhoods. The second half of the film focuses on the systematic take-down of Webb by rival journalists, politicians, and powerful, shadowy figures on the sidelines.
The first part of "Kill the Messenger" is nail-biting stuff, as Webb (charismatically played by Jeremy Renner) tenaciously pursues the big story, heedless of the danger. Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rosemarie DeWitt, Oliver Platt playing Webb’s editor, wife, and boss, respectively. In the second half of the film, Webb’s naivete collides with the unforgiving realities of getting his story out. Gary Webb, despite the tragic coda to his story, is a genuine hero, and Renner plays him with the right mixture of hard-headed obstinacy, street smarts, and disbelief at how little implact his allegations have on the villains involved. Instead of provoking public outrage or demands for government accountability, Webb himself becomes the target of a relentless smear campaign which takes its toll on him, his family, his career, and eventually his life. "Kill the Messenger" subtly draws parallels between the public that was shocked and outraged by the Watergate scandal of the '70s and the public of today, which is more interested in Webb’s personal life than the implications of his "Dark Alliance" series of articles. "Kill the Messenger" is a challenging meditation on ethical issues and an excellent character study of a modern-day Cassandra: a man with something improtant to say, but with no one willing to listen.