Pride & Glory (B+ or 3.5/4 stars)
The good one, the bad one, the conflicted one - this describes 3 brothers in 'Pride & Glory', a gritty cop thriller directed by Gavin O'Connor. Francis Tierney (a stellar Jon Voight) is an ex-NYPD chief. His son, Francis Jr. (Noah Emmerich), is the new chief. His other son, Ray (Edward Norton), is a cop. And his son-in-law, Jimmy (Colin Farrell) is yet another one. When 4 men under Francis Jr.'s charge wind up murdered, it's up to Ray to figure out why they were killed & who is behind it. Discovering that some crooked cops (including his bro-in-law) are linked to the crime, Ray must decide where his loyalties lie. Much of this movie is incredibly well acted. And it sure is tense. But its misery-laden plot, and chaotic conclusion drop my rating down considerably.
We learn early on that Jimmy's group (of cops) have been using members of their own squad to carry out murders for drugs & $$. These are tough times. His men need to pay their bills. The criminals they're killing are scum. So as long as they cover up their crimes, they figure no one will get hurt. Wrong. Jimmy did not anticipate one of his victim's getting away. And it's his escape that triggers a domino effect of revealed corruption among the ranks. The media gets wind of it. The Internal Affairs Bureau wants to know the truth. Both family & public trust goes down the gutter. And everyone will feel the repercussions of Jimmy's actions.
It's Christmas time. None of the Tierney family anticipated anything less than a happy holiday. Francis Sr. is proud of his 2 sons. His lovely daughter is married to a seemingly good cop in Jimmy. They have several beautiful children. BUT, this quadruple homicide has really done them all in. What this film does is reiterate (to a fault) how violent cops really are; and how corrupt they can be. Ed Norton is excellent as the righteous cop; wanting to do the right thing ... no matter what the family cost is. Colin Farrell is explosive as the loving husband & father who, as it turns out, is not the best of cops. And Noah Emmerich is most impressive as the upstanding, conflicted chief whose problems aren't made any easier by caring for his beloved cancer-stricken wife (well played by Jennifer Ehle).
'Pride & Glory' is relentless. And if you enjoy cop dramas, you'll probably walk out of the theater with some satisfaction. Even when the script resorts to predictability & cliche (including every other word being f*ck), the suspense & acting elevate it to a tolerable quality (think We Own the Night). Problems: 1) most films of this genre neglect the female roles; this is true again, and I think it would have benefited the plot to include them in it more so. 2) The film is too heavy/gloomy for its own good (yes, even given this genre). My body is still shaking after having watched it over an hour ago. But it's not a good shake. And 3) this film could have been more successful if the last 15 minutes or so didn't go off the deep end. It all relies too heavily on coincidence & character grandstanding. What a shame.
We learn early on that Jimmy's group (of cops) have been using members of their own squad to carry out murders for drugs & $$. These are tough times. His men need to pay their bills. The criminals they're killing are scum. So as long as they cover up their crimes, they figure no one will get hurt. Wrong. Jimmy did not anticipate one of his victim's getting away. And it's his escape that triggers a domino effect of revealed corruption among the ranks. The media gets wind of it. The Internal Affairs Bureau wants to know the truth. Both family & public trust goes down the gutter. And everyone will feel the repercussions of Jimmy's actions.
It's Christmas time. None of the Tierney family anticipated anything less than a happy holiday. Francis Sr. is proud of his 2 sons. His lovely daughter is married to a seemingly good cop in Jimmy. They have several beautiful children. BUT, this quadruple homicide has really done them all in. What this film does is reiterate (to a fault) how violent cops really are; and how corrupt they can be. Ed Norton is excellent as the righteous cop; wanting to do the right thing ... no matter what the family cost is. Colin Farrell is explosive as the loving husband & father who, as it turns out, is not the best of cops. And Noah Emmerich is most impressive as the upstanding, conflicted chief whose problems aren't made any easier by caring for his beloved cancer-stricken wife (well played by Jennifer Ehle).
'Pride & Glory' is relentless. And if you enjoy cop dramas, you'll probably walk out of the theater with some satisfaction. Even when the script resorts to predictability & cliche (including every other word being f*ck), the suspense & acting elevate it to a tolerable quality (think We Own the Night). Problems: 1) most films of this genre neglect the female roles; this is true again, and I think it would have benefited the plot to include them in it more so. 2) The film is too heavy/gloomy for its own good (yes, even given this genre). My body is still shaking after having watched it over an hour ago. But it's not a good shake. And 3) this film could have been more successful if the last 15 minutes or so didn't go off the deep end. It all relies too heavily on coincidence & character grandstanding. What a shame.