COP LAND
A Film Review by Brian Takeshita
Rating: **1/2 out of ****
The local sheriff of a small town has turned a blind eye to its criminal inhabitants for years. The bad guys are bad, all right, but they've also kept a certain kind of order. The sheriff figures that as long as worse criminal elements are kept at bay, and peace is the rule, there's no use making waves. Then one day, the sheriff's conscience begins to bother him, and he remembers why he became sheriff in the first place. Inspired by the appearance of another law enforcement officer who has continued the fight for justice in the midst of corruption, the sheriff resolves to persevere in the face of overwhelming odds and fight for right once again, culminating in a showdown at dawn.
Sound like a classic western? Something with Gary Cooper? John Wayne? Actually, it's Sylvester Stallone, and the small town is in modern day New Jersey.
Yes, you heard me right, and no, I'm not off my rocker. The movie is James Mangold's COP LAND, which plays itself out like a western for our time. The town is called Garrison, aptly named because it is populated by New York City transit cops who have gotten out of the perilous Big Apple and built themselves a suburban community across the river in New Jersey (so maybe the movie is an "eastern"). Stallone plays Sheriff Freddy Heflin, a slow-witted, overweight man with one bad ear that has prevented him from becoming NYPD himself. With cops all around, Heflin's biggest job is finding out who's been dumping trash in front of other people's yards. The guy doesn't even give out parking tickets, since most of the cars belong to cops. "Real" cops.
It seems most of the NYPD living in Garrison has their hand in something, and the cop who controls it all is Ray Donlan (Harvey Keitel). Donlan is something of a celebrity and power broker within the NYPD - everybody knows him, and he gets what he wants. Donlan's nephew Murray Babitch (Michael Rappaport), also a cop, gets into trouble for shooting a couple of unarmed black youths on the George Washington Bridge, and Donlan covers it up by faking Babitch's suicide and hiding him out. Internal affairs investigator Moe Tilden (Robert De Niro) suspects Donlan's activities and asks Heflin for help, but Donlan gets the investigation called off by one phone call to the New York City mayor. With Tilden's hands tied, Heflin alone must uncover the plot and bring Babitch in.
As I'm sure other reviewers will note, this is easily Stallone's best performance since ROCKY. He plays a character who is understated because the script calls for it, but is even more so because we don't expect it. This is Sylvester Stallone, after all, and here he is backing down even before a confrontation develops. To watch him play this character is somewhat shocking at first, but due to the merit of his performance, we quickly accept him in the role and move on. Even better, Stallone takes the shy Heflin and gradually increases his assertiveness and alters his meek complacency over the course of the film. You want character development? This is it.
Stallone is surrounded by a wealth of acting talent. I mean, come on - Keitel and De Niro (hey, I just realized that they were both in TAXI DRIVER) should be enough said, but Ray Liotta, Annabella Sciorra, and even Robert Patrick (that's right, the T-1000 from TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY) are no slouches, either. Liotta plays Gary Figgis, Heflin's friend and a cop who happens to be fed up with Donlan and his flunkies. Sciorra is Liz Randone, whom Heflin saved from drowning years ago as a teenager. His act of heroics is the reason why he's partially deaf and can't live the life he's always wanted to. Patrick plays Jack Duffy, another cop and Donlan's right-hand man. All actors portray their characters well and contribute to the advancement of the plot.
Unfortunately, with all this talent, you're left wanting more than what you're given. You want to see more screen time for some of the actors/characters. Most characters in the film are interesting, and at a slightly clipped running time of 104 minutes, there could have been enough leeway to give them the extra scenes. It's too bad, since a couple of the plot threads, like Heflin's relationship with Liz, and Tilden's investigation into Donlan's mob connections, could have easily been explored further.
Another problem is the film's closeness to a western. Because we know what happens in most westerns, once we recognize the pattern in COP LAND, we know what the outcome will be. At that point, almost all of the tension and anticipation drops out the bottom, leaving only a curiosity regarding the technicalities of how the inevitable conclusion will be played.
COP LAND may not be a masterpiece, but it does showcase some solid acting that's worth seeing. I just hope Stallone hangs on to the dramatic bug again after such a long hiatus. Given the right circumstances, he'll surprise you with how good he is.
Note: Stallone reportedly gained between 20 and 40 pounds for this role, and he's been lauded for this. How come when I gain a couple of pounds, people just tell me I'm starting to look a little thick? Oh, the injustices of the world....
Review posted July 21, 1998
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