Brooklyn's Finest
Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Don Cheadle, Richard Gere, Wesley Snipes
Running Time: 2 hrs 15 mins
Rating: R
Release Date: March 5, 2010
PLOT: The story of three Brooklyn cops: Sal (Hawke), a drug-buster who is desperate for extra cash; Tango (Cheadle), a man who might be too undercover for his own good; and Eddie (Gere), an aging police officer who cannot wait to quit and do something less dangerous with his life.
WHO'S IT FOR?: If you enjoyed Fuqua’s earlier film Training Day, then you are prepared for how this new film presents itself – it has the violent impulses of a hood movie, but is more credible as a drama because of its focus on character development. And for the record, this is not another version of Training Day.
EXPECTATIONS: What else is left for the “dirty cop” film to say? If this is going to be another run-of-the-mill, poorly acted, predictable “edgy thriller” about how hard it is to stay clean when working for the law, there’d better at least be some fake mustaches and Keanu Reeves-level performances (stick 'em up, Street Kings.) I’ve got to stay awake somehow.
SCORECARD (0-10)
ACTORS:
Ethan Hawke as Sal: He is constantly photographed near crucifixes, and for an obvious reason – his low pay and constant problems pushed on him by the world have turned him into a walking self-sacrifice. Halfway through the film, Sal is worth more dead than alive, which make his actions progressively more dangerous/suicidal. Hawke plays this character with substantial intensity (in a role that one could imagine a younger Sean Penn signing up for), but is not special enough to stand out particularly, a trait that I’m sure is not an intentional sacrifice. Score: 7
Don Cheadle as Tango: As seen in many of his films, such as Crash or Hotel Rwanda, Cheadle has proven to be the name for hire when ordinary characters are being forced into extraordinary circumstances. While the situation of being trapped in an undercover position is certainly compelling, the man himself (named with a wink and a nudge) is relatively typical. His actions in the ending allow him to redeem his vanilla-ness, but it’s only a brief upbeat to a character who tangos in step like other undercover cops before him. Score: 6
Richard Gere as Eddie: Rarely do cop movies present their audiences with a character like this – the coward. Eddie is highly unusual in that he treats being a police officer as nothing but a job. The experiences he has on duty disappear from his mind once he hangs up his blue uniform, the only shred of policeman charisma provided by his badge and gun. The idea of heroism frightens him as much as the people he arrests. Gere plays this character with great fragility, and makes this the most impressionable of leads in a film already full of raw portrayals. Score: 8
Wesley Snipes as Caz: The silver-screen-absent Snipes returns to the multiplex with a cocky character, a drug dealer who is (thankfully) not written on cardboard, nor lacking any of the organic ingredients that make all of the main characters in this film so acceptable. On screen the least often of the four, Snipes shows up about halfway into the story and represents just how deep Cheadle’s character has gotten into this mess. If one is keeping track of careers, Snipes’ return is not complete, but it is off to quite a commendable start. Score: 6
TALKING: The cops of Brookyln's Finest have a lot on their minds, which is usually expressed through a cavalcade of cuss-words. There are, however, a handful of intriguing discussions that open up the question as to how difficult it is to be a cop (financially speaking in this case.) Related note: At a Q&A for this film, director Antoine Fuqua said that police officers are paid a yearly salary of $25,000 – 30,000. (He then shared a stunning statistic, especially relevant to this film, that said more cops die by committing suicide than by being killed in the line of duty.) Score: 7
SIGHTS: The violence tends to build up quickly in Brookyln's Finest, but it's rarely ever shot with a flashy sense. This is a gritty film with patient cinematography that utilizes static shots and long takes for the sake of realism, and more importantly, not does not glorify its extremely bloody shootouts. Score: 6
SOUNDS: Though suitably intense (and in one instance, syncopated to an alarm clock!), the rushing dramatic strings are forgettable, as are any pieces of the film’s soundtrack. The most memorable sound elements would probably be the loud gunshots, but once this movie comes to your iPhone you’ll actually have the option of turning it down. Score: 4
PLOT SPOILERS
BEST SCENE: There are two sequences in the film where the lives of Cheadle, Gere, and Hawke converge. While the second moment (the ending) can stand on its own, the first time they are cut so close together is blissful cinematic gripping tension.
ENDING: Reality catches up with the three cops, and they are judged by their previous actions.
QUESTIONS: Was the scene with Richard Gere "proving that he can get any woman he wants, no matter what age" really necessary?
REWATCHABILITY: Brookyln's Finest has high second-round potential in terms of being both a taut action movie and a heavily-layered modern drama.
OVERALL
In order just to get by, drug dealers are not the only ones who hustle the streets. Being a police officer is its own government-protected form of slangin’, according to Brooklyn's Finest, one of the sharper additions to a genre focused on the ugly gray corners of law enforcement. The high risks and low pay can too easily put cops on a personal downward spiral, with their jobs not being financially strong enough to truly protect or serve their own well-being.
This sad truth is realized in this gritty action-drama, which is supported in large part by its solid acting across the board. At times Brooklyn's Finest can move slower than it should, but the film trusts that all of the weight it carries for its characters will pay off (it does) when they collide at its whopper of finale. When it has the audience's heart rate in full control and rooting for Richard Gere, it becomes quite apparent that someone's getting the job done. Properly.
FINAL SCORE: 7/10