Two men at a crossroad: Eddie Dugan (Richard Gere) and Sal Procida (Ethan Hawke) in Brooklyn's Finest.
Taut police thriller with superb ensemble acting
By Ed Rampell
Do you like going to the movies to see police dramas? The problem for me is twofold: I don’t really like the “pigs.” Secondly, television is full of what the French call “policiers,” so if I’m going to haul my sorry butt out to a theater and fork out greenbacks for tickets, the film really better be a cut above the typical TV fare I can watch at home for free.
In the case of director Antoine Fuqua’s Brooklyn’s Finest this taut police thriller not only overcame my antipathy for the men in blue, but it is indeed far superior to the usual run-of-the-mill shoot-‘em-ups aired on the boob tube. Michael C. Martin’s script about a drug operation in New York’s outer borough and how it (and other subplots) affects NYPDers there has an exciting, compelling, complex plot, with three-dimensional characters to match it.
Richard Gere plays Eddie Dugan, a longtime beat cop approaching retirement with a go-along-to-get-along attitude. His best days (if Dugan ever had any to begin with) seem far behind him, as the old-timer prepares to hang up his blue uniform, and avoid any last minute trouble before he can start collecting that long-awaited civil service pension. Not surprisingly, Dugan’s a lonely divorcee; his sexy love interest is Chantal, a Latina hooker he pays for play, portrayed by the slinky Shannon Kane.
Ethan Hawke portrays Sal Procida, a narcotics officer torn between his Catholic conscience and the pressing economic and health needs of his growing brood, as the whiff of corruption and easy money floats over Brooklyn. Sal’s fiscal dilemma is similar to that of millions of hard-pressed working class stiffs and wannabe homeowners in Obama’s America -– except they don’t have access to the drug trade’s tempting cold cash.
Don Cheadle depicts Tango, a promotion-seeking undercover detective who is similarly divided, between doing his duty and his loyalty to Caz (Wesley Snipes), a gangster recently released from the pen. My former Hunter College classmate, Ellen Barkin, crackles onscreen as ball-busting Agent Smith, a superior overseeing Operation Clean Up with a take-no-prisoners mentality who clashes with the insubordinate Tango. Smith is one of the lesser characters in this ensemble cast played by outstanding actors, including Lili Taylor as Sal’s long suffering wife Angela and Vincent D’Onofrio, as Carlo, a hood who quickly learns loose lips sink ships.
Set against the realistic location shooting at actual East Brooklyn projects, the dramatis personae and plot, seasoned by a bit of sex slavery, is a combustible brew that blows up onscreen. This is arguably Fuqua’s most exciting feature, even better directed, in terms of both action and acting, than his 2001 film, Training Day, another bad cop drama which won Denzel Washington a Best Actor Oscar, and also co-starred Hawke. Fuqua’s kinetic camerawork and cinematic sensibility still retain that fast moving music video verve, which previously had earned him an MTV Best Rap Video nom.
The philosophical film shows how good people can do bad things and vice versa as idealism vies with temptation amidst the age-old struggle for survival. The final shots of Hawke’s beleaguered Sal call to mind the ending of John Huston’s 1948 film, The Treasure of Sierra Madre, as well as the Bible’s warning about the root of all evil. While some characters confirmed my suspicions about the “pigs,” others showed that some policepersons do act heroically.
Naturally, all of Martin’s skillfully written plot strands come neatly together in the tapestry of the thrilling grand finale. In the end, which officer is Brooklyn’s Finest? Is it one or all of these protagonists in blue? Of course, I’m no snitch -- this undercover critic’s lips are sealed and I won’t reveal the surprise ending -- but this breathtaking picture is well worth the trip to see it on the big screen at a theater near you.
