Review of Brooklyn's Finest (2010) by Marshall E — 28 Aug 2010

The subject matter of Antoine Fuqua's crime drama Brooklyn's Finest is a complete contradiction to it's title. The underlying plot of the film is, well, nothing. When I stopped to really think about the moral of this story I just could not come up with one, so I stopped trying about half way through. What was supposedly a tale of the struggles of human character and the choices between right and wrong eventually came across as an aimless free-fall of three intersecting story lines.

The movie is comprised of three stories about three police officers walking three completely separate paths in their careers. The first story is about detective Salvatore ?Sal? Procida, played by Ethan Hawk. Sal is shown in the opening sequence of the film talking to an undercover informant. What is initially a casual conversation quickly turns bad as Sal unexpectedly shoots the informant in the face and takes the wad of cash he just happened to be holding in his lap for no apparent reason. Struggling with a sick pregnant wife, a moldy decomposing house and the prospect of twins on the way, his meager police salary has proven to be an insufficient means to buying a new house for his growing family. While Sal has started to steal money from drug raids to pay for the down-payment on his new home and not to mention shooting informants, it's clear that Sal has crossed the line.

The second story is about Detective Clarence ?Tango? Butler. Tango is undercover working hand in hand with the drug dealing underground. Growing tired of this thankless line of work, Tango has been asking his handler for a promotion which is Tango's way of climbing out of the trenches and into a more appreciated position. Tango is losing touch with who the good guys and the bad guys are as he becomes more and more like the people he is trying to put away. As it turns out, Tango finally gets his chance at a promotion to a coveted desk and a suit, but there is a catch. He must betray a close friend and recently released federal prisoner Caz, played by Wesley Snipes. Tango struggles with the prospect of remaining stuck in limbo or sending his friend back to prison and in constant conflict with his superiors.

The third story is Officer Eddy Dugan, played by Richard Gere. Eddie is a sub standard, washed out beat cop who is only seven days away from retirement. On the surface, Eddie is detached but still somewhat functional as a cop. Underneath the surface he is teetering on the edge of a complete breakdown, waking up each morning by hammering back shots of whiskey just to get out of bed and carrying an unloaded weapon on the job. He has already contemplated suicide more than once and is disrespected by other cops for being unprofessional. His only source of friendship is a local prostitute who he develops an interest in but is ultimately turned away.

As the three stories begin to come together they merge in the final act. I kept asking myself what point was trying to be made here. It is almost as if the very idea of police work was being portrayed as the enemy. The only message that came across was that being a cop in New York was a depressing terrible job that no one should have to suffer through. I doubt this was the intended point of the movie, but weather it was or not, that was what was loud and clear here. The acting was excellent and the buildup of tension was very well crafted, but the movie completely failed in delivery because ultimately there was nothing to deliver.

The characters, although well portrayed by their actors were depressing. A couple of other familiar faces here are Vincent D'Onofrio as the unlucky criminal informant, Will Patton as Tango's Lieutenant, and Ellen Barkin as a heartless Federal Agent overseeing Tango's undercover operation. The scripting and situations were terribly cliched. Antoine Fuqua was critically successful with his earlier crime thriller ?Training Day? because the subject he was dealing with had a strong plot and although just as gritty and dark, had a point to make. This was also a complete reversal of character for Ethan Hawk, who starred in both films. The ending was predictable, but then again so was the entire movie.