History Film / RichardJewell

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade / ImmoralJournalist: The film was subject to controversy for its portrayal of real-life journalist Kathy Scruggs, who is presented as actively trying to vilify Jewell in an attempt to further her own career. A major plot-point involves her seducing Agent Shaw in exchange for information about Jewell and the bombing, despite there being no evidence or record of any such tryst happening in real life.

* AdultFear: The movie's entire premise is this: Your entire life suddenly put under a microscope, being framed for a crime you didn't commit, attempted entrapment, and that's not even getting into what started all this in the first place: An act of terrorism.

* SmallNameBigEgo: Watson warns Jewell of letting a little power get to his head. Years later, we see that Jewell has indeed embellished his authority as a campus cop after getting fired from other law enforcement jobs for much the same reason.

* NotHelpingYourCase: Watson is repeatedly irritated when he finds out about something unfavorable from Jewell's past (such as impersonating an officer) that only reinforces the narrative that the FBI and media have made of him. One of the worst ones is when Watson has Jewell put his large amount of guns on the bed so that they won't be uncovered by the FBI during their search.
-->'''Watson''': Were you anticipating a zombie invasion?

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: The film was subject to controversy for its portrayal of real-life journalist Kathy Scruggs, who is presented as an immoral journalist that actively tries to vilify Jewell in an attempt to further her own career. A major plot-point involves her seducing Agent Shaw in exchange for information about Jewell and the bombing, despite there being no evidence or record of any such tryst happening in real life.

The movie stars Paul Walter Hauser, Creator/SamRockwell, Creator/KathyBates, Creator/OliviaWilde, and Creator/JonHamm. The movie was released on December 13, 2019 in the United States.

* BrokenPedestal: Being put on blast by the FBI as a suspect in the bombing where he single-handedly discovered the bomb and saved many lives eventually causes Jewell to lose his awe for federal law enforcement, stating that he used to see them as the pinnacle of justice, and admits to Agent Shaw's face he might not see it that way anymore.

* DiggingYourselfDeeper: Jewell is a master of accidentally reinforcing the FBI's idea that he's a psychotic police wannabe that engineered the whole thing.

* BasementDweller: Richard Jewell still lives with his mother. Although he's a pretty functional adult regardless, Kathy Scruggs is amused that he does so.

* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: Jewell, while accompanying the FBI agents to what he's told is a recording for a training video, is accosted by reporters outside his home who are asking questions about whether he's a suspect, or has been told to leave town. Jewell just simply answers "no" to their questions and when someone asks if he's under investigation he replies "Well, I assume they're investigating everybody who was at the park."