October (Web-only) 2003

ARTICLE TOOLS

Find similar articles E-mail this page

Women stormed the theatres this week, playing central roles as an investigative journalist, a young woman struggling to cook her first Thanksgiving dinner, and a single mother with a terminal illness. And yet, moviegoers showed they are far more interested in seeing clueless sex objects on the run from chainsaw-wielding serial killers.

Cate Blanchett masters another accent in Veronica Guerin

Of the featured women in this week's new releases, Veronica Guerin is the one with Oscar buzz. Screenwriters Carol Doyle and Mary Agnes Donoghue have adapted the life of an Irish journalist into a thriller and a tribute of sorts. The movie, directed by Joel Schumacher (Batman and Robin, Phone Booth), stars Cate Blanchett (The Lord of the Rings' Galadriel) in a role many say will earn her an Oscar nomination.

As with Luther, Ali, A Beautiful Mind, and most biopics, viewers have quickly raised questions of historical accuracy. For some, the liberties taken with the facts have a detrimental effect on the film. But several critics are bothered more by the style of the work than how it strays from the historical truth.

Guerin, in the mid '90s, wrote about controversial issues like pedophilia in the Catholic Church. But her investigative reporting on the increase in illegal drug trafficking and its impact on young people became to her more than just a news story. Her personal efforts to identify and bring to justice those responsible for the problem led to a tragedy that became the stuff of headlines.

Movieguide's critic calls it "a tough, sobering look at an evil system and the fight it took to overcome an established system of crime. As opposed to the steady stream of desensitizing action thrillers Hollywood has been feeding the public in recent ...