Cop Land (1997)
Director: James Mangold
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liota, Peter Berg
Primary genre: Crime
Secondary genre: Drama
James Mangold’s crime drama is a gripping tale of suburban corruption within the enforcement of the law. Starting out very strong in an extended prologue that has been shot and scored (by Howard Shore) under a sense of tremendous urgency and incoming dread, this attention grabbing tale of moral decay amidst New York’s finest is moving at a breathless pace despite its severe lack of bombastic set pieces, high body count, OTT acting, or excessive usage of swear words. This is not your typical mobster flick but rather a clean and focused case of a town going to the dark side.
Mangold’s script juggles several themes asking important questions about one’s complicity in crime in exchange for social order. What once was an area where cops can live in relatively peace with zero crime rates is now a school yard where bullies get what they want when they want - it does not matter if you are a bar owner, or an officer of the law; the new system can and will bend you if you think stepping out of line. These are fascinating stuff without the usual fluff that we see in all these supposedly down-and-dirty crime dramas with colorful individuals and black humour during scenes of murder (and/or torture). Instead of delivering one-dimensional and cheap thrills, Mangold paints everyone in the same brush (watch out for Paul Calderon’s rightfully angry Puerto Rican paramedic or Janeane Garofalo’s naive cop).
“Being right is not a bullet-proof vest, Freddy!”
Mangold goes for a subtle, naturalistic and stoic approach centering around Sylvester Stallone’s mild mannered and easy going Sherriff. Sly gives a sensational performance, his eyes are enough to show that he has accepted the new order because he considers all these bullies his friends. Supported by an excellent cast who bring rich gravitas to their roles (Liotta is outstanding, Keitel is mesmerising, and De Niro is well…De Niro), the dynamics between several players are fascinating to watch them unfold disregarding traditional genre blueprints.
It’s not perfect though. A romantic subplot could be easily left out instead of making a banal case of domestic violence, the film seems to be building up towards an explosive and cathartic finale that never comes, the racial undertones have not aged well (that Method Man cameo is very distracting), and Peter Berg is better behind the camera than being in front of it.
Still, Cop Land is magnetic enough due to a stellar group of actors who together make movie magic. Its beautiful refusal to play by the established cinematic rules is to be admired. Sly gained 15 kilos to look like an every day man and delivered his finest acting since First Blood (1982) and this deserves the price of admission alone.
Top tier crime drama
+Stallone’s finest performance for a long time
+Stellar cast
+Great pace
+Morally ambitious
-Superficial romantic subplot
-Underwhelming finale
-Dated racial undertones