Review of Pride and Glory (2008) by Ben W — 06 May 2009

This is a respectable effort that, for reasons unclear to me, has taken a good thrashing from critics and audiences alike. Allegedly, there were a lot of issues dragging the movie down during production, such as incessant script changes during the filmmaking process.

Director Gavin O'Connor does a commendable job of shielding the audience from those problems. This is a pretty rock solid crime-drama, with a slick-looking style and a script that remains compelling despite its flaws.

Although the focus is murky sometimes and the characters slightly underdeveloped, I felt that the savage violence was appropriate and the structure felt tight. The performances are the backbone of this project.

Edward Norton is an excellent lead, as always, but it is the rising talent Colin Farrell who stole my attention. Playing a malicious and terrifying character, he demonstrates once again the kind of range that he has as an actor.