I say that Veronica Guerin is not as good as the story that it is based on because it is based on an extremely powerful story of bravery and meaning that the real Veronica Guerin deserved a better movie than this. The movie walks a fine line in portraying Guerin as a reporter determined to expose the dangerous drug trafficking going on in 1990s Dublin or a headline chaser determined not to back down while so many people are reading about her exploits.
I tend to favor the former, if only because I don't like to think of someone who was killed during a quest to get drugs off the streets as an egomaniac who desperately wants to be famous. That being said, the biggest problem with the movie is that it is so contrived. Guerin walks into a dilapidated building to get information for her stories about the drugs on the streets, and the first thing she finds are a lot of young teenagers who are so spun that they don't even think to take the needles out of their arms, get this, when they are done "renting" them.
I should be careful because this may or may not have actually happened like that in reality, but it strikes me as a little bit odd that the first thing she finds are a lot of teens with heroin flowing freely through their veins who are more than willing to talk to her, as long as they don't have to smile. I am willing to admit that something like this may have been necessary simply for reasons of brevity so the movie isn't four hours long, but the effect is the same.
The movie starts off with the murder of Veronica and then plays out as a flashback leading up to her death, and in that way it is an interesting film, but it never loses the quality of seeming to be heavily written and re-written, as everything happens so neatly, exactly when it needs to in order to further the plot. There is a great scene where Veronica goes to the very front door of a major drug dealer and demands to know about his involvement. This actually happens twice, one time she gets a cold shoulder and the other time she gets a cold, ugly word repeated loudly and a harsh punishment for her insolence.
One of these scenes illustrates her courage and certainty that she is protected by her status as a reporter, the other scene illustrates the extent of her vulnerability, which she gradually comes to recognize and fear. But it is not her vulnerability that she fears, it is the very real possibility that she may not be able to continue her work if something happens to her. Again, it is up for debate whether she was chasing fame or determined to stop the drug trade, but I don't think she wanted to tackle the story in the first place because of fame or recognition as much as simply because no one else seemed to care or to dare.
The reality of the drug infested neighborhoods seemed a bit over the top to me, but I've never been to Ireland so what could I know. Guerin goes from writing everyday news stories to writing solely about the drug problem in Ireland, getting closer and closer to their sources and each time one of them threatens or even attacks her, it only makes her work even harder to bring them down. I heard someone say that the setting was a character itself in this movie, but I think Guerin's bravery is more of a character than the setting.
Whatever the case, the ending of the movie, which I understand is heavily dramatized for effect, is the part that really makes you understand how important her work was, regardless of her true motives. But the problem is that all of the meaning is monopolized by the last few minutes of the movie, imposing an odd lightness onto the rest of the film up to that point. This is, of course, what I mean when I say that the real story deserved a better movie, because as soon as we see the real effects of Guerin's work, dramatized or not, it is so powerful that it makes the rest of the movie look like a run-of-the-mill thriller. Nevertheless, it is much better than what I have come to expect from Jerry Bruckheimer.
I tend to favor the former, if only because I don't like to think of someone who was killed during a quest to get drugs off the streets as an egomaniac who desperately wants to be famous. That being said, the biggest problem with the movie is that it is so contrived. Guerin walks into a dilapidated building to get information for her stories about the drugs on the streets, and the first thing she finds are a lot of young teenagers who are so spun that they don't even think to take the needles out of their arms, get this, when they are done "renting" them.
I should be careful because this may or may not have actually happened like that in reality, but it strikes me as a little bit odd that the first thing she finds are a lot of teens with heroin flowing freely through their veins who are more than willing to talk to her, as long as they don't have to smile. I am willing to admit that something like this may have been necessary simply for reasons of brevity so the movie isn't four hours long, but the effect is the same.
The movie starts off with the murder of Veronica and then plays out as a flashback leading up to her death, and in that way it is an interesting film, but it never loses the quality of seeming to be heavily written and re-written, as everything happens so neatly, exactly when it needs to in order to further the plot. There is a great scene where Veronica goes to the very front door of a major drug dealer and demands to know about his involvement. This actually happens twice, one time she gets a cold shoulder and the other time she gets a cold, ugly word repeated loudly and a harsh punishment for her insolence.
One of these scenes illustrates her courage and certainty that she is protected by her status as a reporter, the other scene illustrates the extent of her vulnerability, which she gradually comes to recognize and fear. But it is not her vulnerability that she fears, it is the very real possibility that she may not be able to continue her work if something happens to her. Again, it is up for debate whether she was chasing fame or determined to stop the drug trade, but I don't think she wanted to tackle the story in the first place because of fame or recognition as much as simply because no one else seemed to care or to dare.
The reality of the drug infested neighborhoods seemed a bit over the top to me, but I've never been to Ireland so what could I know. Guerin goes from writing everyday news stories to writing solely about the drug problem in Ireland, getting closer and closer to their sources and each time one of them threatens or even attacks her, it only makes her work even harder to bring them down. I heard someone say that the setting was a character itself in this movie, but I think Guerin's bravery is more of a character than the setting.
Whatever the case, the ending of the movie, which I understand is heavily dramatized for effect, is the part that really makes you understand how important her work was, regardless of her true motives. But the problem is that all of the meaning is monopolized by the last few minutes of the movie, imposing an odd lightness onto the rest of the film up to that point. This is, of course, what I mean when I say that the real story deserved a better movie, because as soon as we see the real effects of Guerin's work, dramatized or not, it is so powerful that it makes the rest of the movie look like a run-of-the-mill thriller. Nevertheless, it is much better than what I have come to expect from Jerry Bruckheimer.