Review of Brooklyn's Finest (2010) by Sean K — 03 Nov 2012

I was impressed by the acting in Brooklyn's Finest. Virtually every character puts their all into their roles, although some of the lines they have to say strain credibility. Ellen Barkin's character in particular is just the worst, and some of the attempts at authentic New York dialogue are painful. For the most part though, it is interesting to watch these characters.

However, what keeps Brooklyn's Finest from being an excellent multi-character study is the script. It takes a page out of Crash, Magnolia, Babel, and every other movie that ever had intersecting storylines, and mishmashes the characters into unlikely plot resolutions. A film like Traffic did it right. Brooklyn's Finest doesn't. It's just too easy to sit there and think that it is contrived. I felt the same way about Crash. I felt the same way about Babel. And so on. Once you strain realism to develop the plot, you've lost. But even so, the performances are strong, and even if they are headed for predictable conclusions, it's not enough of a detriment to spoil the overall atmosphere that is developed.