Rent Pride and Glory on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Joe Carnahan & Gavin O'Connor (screenplay), Gavin O'Connor & Greg O'Connor & Robert Hopes (story)
Directed by: Gavin O'Connor
Starring: Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Noah Emmerich, Jon Voight, Jennifer Ehle, Frank Grillo, Shea Whigham, Lake Bell
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A family's moral codes are tested when Ray Tierney investigates a case that reveals an incendiary police corruption scandal involving his own brother-in-law. The truth is a Pandora's Box that threatens to upend not only the Tierney legacy but the entire NYPD.
Verdict
I'm a fan of the cop genre, and this is such a great example. It's got good and bad cops, family, and loyalty. You've got cops doing everything to protect their reputation while others seek justice. This explains why crimes get covered up. No one wants their reputation tarnished by others. Every scene drives the plot, keeping you completely engaged as the mystery is unraveled.
Watch It.
Review
The murder of four police officers starts the plot. The Tierny family, intertwined with New York Police, is at the center. Fran Tierny (Noah Emmerich) is the deputy of the officers killed. He starts a task force to figure out what happened. Fran's brother Ray Tierny (Edward Norton) is urged by their father Francis (Jon Voight), also a cop, to join the the detail. Their brother in law Jimmy (Colin Farrell) worked with the officers killed. This is a family in all levels of the police.
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| Noah Emmerich, Colin Farrell play Fran Tierney, Jimmy Egan |
Ray is a good cop that took a step back after an on duty shooting. From the start he finds the 911 call odd. We quickly discover the motive for the killing. Jimmy was leading a secret task force to clean up the streets. They got greedy and started running the streets and promoting dealers. Ray wants the truth, Jimmy wants to conceal his deceit.
When Ray finds out what's going on, he doesn't reveal it, but he does ask Fran about a lead. That's when Ray's father Francis steps in and tells Ray that sometimes you must sit on information. Francis doesn't want to diminish Fran's or his own reputation. Fran didn't know what was going on. He gave Jimmy and his guys freedom to clean up the streets and didn't ask questions. That doesn't absolve Fran; he knew it was better to not ask questions so he wouldn't be culpable.
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| Edward Norton plays Ray Tierney |
Jimmy is on the warpath, as the truth would ruin his career. He's willing to go well past common morality to get answers, and that's contrasted with Ray. Ray threatens an addict for answers but the nature is different. Ray threatens people with the law, Jimmy threatens them with murder.
Everyone is worried about their reputation. Ray wants justice, and that mindset is why he took a step back to missing persons. It's one thing for cops to subvert the law, but Jimmy and his guys are criminals. If the truth were revealed it would devastate their families and disappoint other cops. The reason it gets covered is that no one wants that stink on them. You must hide the truth so you don't have to accept the responsibility. They also don't want to erase all trust in the department. Fran's first instinct is to deny and cover up. As the commanding officer, he's responsible. He gave Jimmy and his guys room because less crime made him look good. Looking the other way was worth it as the ends justified the means. The problem becomes, where do you draw the line? It's all perspective.
Fran saw it as reducing crime and getting a promotion. Jimmy saw the line and wanted more, a reward for risking his life as a police officer. Francis sees his reputation, and the name of his family, ruined as well. These cops are backed into a corner. When that happens, everyone reacts. It's a face off of good and evil, and that's more than just a metaphor. Ray and Jimmy endure a brutal fight. Ray, as the good guy wins, but that's not the end of it. With an unruly mob, Jimmy provokes them. It seems a bit over the top, at the least too poetic, but Jimmy lived and died outside of the law. He was never going to accept his punishment.
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