A Cop Flick With A Lot of 'Pride'

by Brett Parker

The interesting thing about Pride and Glory is the way it pretends that countless other police dramas about corruption have never existed before. The film may occupy familiar cinematic territory, yet it strangely doesn’t feel that way. Here is a situation where talented stars and filmmakers bring A-Game efforts in trying to make a routine story seem as realistic and relevant as humanly possible, effectively cloaking the age-old clichés staring us dead in the face.

The film opens in a brisk and cold Christmas time in New York City. Four cops are found brutally murdered in a drug bust gone horribly wrong. The four officers were under the command of Francis Tierney, JR. (Noah Emmerich) who is oblivious to how such a situation could turn so deadly. Seeking desperate answers to such an alarming situation, Francis Tierney, SR. (Jon Voight) recruits his other son, Ray Tierney (Edward Norton) to investigate. Ray is a skilled detective with a very troubling past that caused him to bow out of the force early in his career. After a wounded plea from his father, Ray agrees to take on the case. As Ray carries out the investigation, he soon uncovers a disturbing ring of police corruption, one of drug dealing and contract killings, with his brother-in-law, Jimmy Egan (Colin Farrell), as the ring leader. Tensions and violence flair as family loyalties clash with police ethics and confused moralities.

There’s really nothing that goes down in Pride and Glory that you haven’t seen done in a million other cop films. What’s surprising is the way we don’t really seem to notice. The film is a subtle and focused affair that relies on emotions more so than action and regards police corruption as social tragedy instead of just exploited entertainment. Director Gavin O’Connor’s last film, Miracle, also demonstrated a knack for telling an involving and compelling story in spite of the timeless formula it embodies. He certainly knows how to assemble the right talent for the job. Cinematographer Declan Quinn (Leaving Las Vegas, Rachel Getting Married) brings a real artistic grace to the film’s visual scheme; he makes us sense the bleak chill of the winter landscape and places us as a frantic bystander in the urban action as the camera creeps up staircases and down alleyways. The actor’s endless talents ease perfectly into their roles; Norton has that one-two punch of street smarts and everyman we’ve come to expect from him and Voight of course nails the wisdom and conflicts of an aging police patriarch.

The best reason to see the film is the vicious supporting turn from Colin Farrell as the corrupt cop. In his celebrity life, Farrell’s womanizing, partying, and foreign demeanor would make him seem like an Errol Flynn for our times, yet he attacks roles with the compelling charisma and intensity of Al Pacino (his co-star in The Recruit). This comparison probably comes from the fact that both actors have created a staple in playing cops in numerous films. After playing super-cool good cops in S.W.A.T. and Miami Vice, Farrell astonishes us with his horrifying villainy this time out. A scene where he tough-talks a street hood who confronts him at his home makes us feel as if we’re staring down a scary pit-bull and our blood is truly chilled in a scene where Farrell punches a criminal’s wife and threatens to burn his infant child’s face if he doesn’t receive information. Farrell is always a convincing actor and it’s so impressive this time considering the vile nature of his character.

Compared with other cop movies, Pride and Glory isn’t exactly a masterwork. It never achieves the pot boiling tension of Serpico nor does it possess the cool fascination of Miami Vice. One thing it did do, however, was to restore more faith in me towards the Police as an institution. The last cop film I saw, Street Kings, had literally all but one of its characters favor corrupt values all the way up until the very end. This time around, it was nice to see cops discuss the moral values of what they’re doing and make certain decisions in trying to make things right. Not every cop is corrupt to the core, and the film’s realism only strengthens my faith in that ideal.