COP LAND (Miramax - 1997) Starring Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Peter Berg, Janeane Garafalo, Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra, Noah Emmerich, Cathy Moriarty Screenplay by James Mangold Produced by Cary Woods, Cathy Konrad, Ezra Swerdlow Directed by James Mangold Running time: 105 minutes
** (out of four stars)
Alternate Rating: C
Note: Some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers. Be forewarned.
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I have always believed that Sylvester Stallone had the ability to turn in a good acting performance -- after all, one doesn't turn in such a subtle, nuanced performance as he did in his film ROCKY simply by chance. He has not, however, given a performance of note in recent years, nor has he faced any sort of role which would test his acting chops; save for the odd foray into comedy (such as OSCAR and STOP! OR MY MOM WILL SHOOT), Mr. Stallone has been restricted to the role of Action Star, where characterization typically surrenders to stunts and effects sequences.
Mr. Stallone makes his much-heralded return to "serious" acting in James Mangold's police drama COP LAND, where he plays his first recognizably humanized character in well over a decade. Gone are the larger-than-life, testosterone-soaked superheroics -- Mr. Stallone's Freddy Heflin character is an agreeable, half-deaf, overweight sheriff of the town of Garrison, New Jersey. Supporting Mr. Stallone in COP LAND is an impressive ensemble cast of remarkable talent -- iconic actors such as Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro, surrounded by capable actors like Ray Liotta, Peter Berg, Michael Rappaport and Janeane Garafolo.
James Mangold's first film was a character drama called HEAVY, which I have not seen as of this writing. I have, however, read Mr. Mangold's corresponding screenplay, which was superb -- rich with characterization and incisive dialogue, with a series of compelling plots rife with an undercurrent of sadness. The same can be said for Mr. Mangold's COP LAND, and it quickly becomes apparent how his second project has managed to gain the interest and attention of such an astonshingly varied group of talented actors -- COP LAND juggles several subplots simultaneously, and is filled with numerous meaty roles which all figure prominently into the film's storyline; there are very few throwaway supporting characters of little consequence to COP LAND, and it would seem that the prospect of portraying one of the many integral characters in a complex drama must have been enticing to the acting talent.
Unfortunately, it is this very selling point of COP LAND which proves to be its undoing; the film is simply too unfocused, veering back and forth from one subplot to the next. Mr. Mangold has written a involving epic covering much terrain, and then tried to cram it all into a movie which runs less than two hours. There is too much going on in each subplot to be adequately covered in a one-hundred minute film -- COP LAND is a film which could stand to improve with a longer running time, where the relationships between the characters could be developed and examined in greater depth, and the various story angles could be covered in a more complete and satisfactory fashion. As it stands, the stories in COP LAND seem hurried as they compete with each other for screentime, and leap forward in sporadic bursts rather than unfolding in a natural progression.
COP LAND has its strengths: its premise of a small town populated almost exclusively of corrupt New York police officers is intriguing, and the film's action sequences, including a nighttime car chase and a rooftop fight scene are dynamic and well-shot by cinematographer Eric Edwards. Prolific composer Howard Shore provides COP LAND with a striking, moody score, and while she has a smallish role in the current context of the film, Janeane Garafolo once again steals scenes as Deputy Cindy Betts, a newcomer to the Garrison police force -- what a remarkable talent she is. While it is somewhat disappointing that the climactic sequence in COP LAND is a directly confrontational one, Mr. Mangold's inspired use of sound in conjunction with this battle is effective, original and striking. However, COP LAND is ultimately hampered by its insufficient rendering of each subplot. It is of course possible to juggle several subplots and a myriad of characters simultaneously -- Robert Altman's films are proof enough of that -- but Mr. Mangold's characters are so well drawn out and the subplots are of sufficient complexity that they virtually cry out for a more detailed depiction than what is eventually shown in this cut of the film; watching COP LAND feels somewhat like watching a random one-hundred minutes of what should be a 140-minute film.
As for Mr. Stallone, his performance is somewhat of a disappointment. His 38-pound weight-gain to portray Sheriff Freddy Heflin has been well-publicized in the media, and his performance is more understated and self-contained than any of his other recent performances, yet Mr. Stallone is not particularly successful in depicting his character's mental and emotional anguish -- Freddy has been transfixed with Liz (Annabella Sciorra), the wife of tempermental cop Joey Randone (Peter Berg) ever since he rescued her in an automobile accident which caused his partial deafness, yet Mr. Stallone's method of portrayal this onscreen consists mostly of staring vacantly into space, a glimmer of wistfulness peeking out from behind his eyes, while his character's increasing unease with the shady goings-on with the corrupt New York police officers, led by Ray Donlan (Harvey Keitel), which run the town is also ineffectively depicted. Mr. Stallone is not great, or even particularly good, in COP LAND, but he takes a solid step forward in terms of regaining his credibility with the general public as a bonafide actor.
- Alex Fung
email: aw220@freenet.carleton.ca
web : http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/
-- Alex Fung (aw220@freenet.carleton.ca) | http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/ "Let's hurt somebody." - Aaron Eckhart, IN THE COMPANY OF MEN
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