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All rights reserved.Cop Land (1998, DVD)
Poor pin-ball playing sheriff picked on by pretentious police palsReview created: 06/10/04
by: mrblonde79 -- a member of Epinions
Pros:
On par performances, abundant character development, smoothly executed action scenes
On par performances, abundant character development, smoothly executed action scenes
Cons:
central plot veers mildly off course after the film's first half
central plot veers mildly off course after the film's first half
Director/screenwriter James Mangold's police drama Cop Land is one of those films that you have to view more than just once to embrace the sheer velocity of its characters & the harsh theme of the film.
Boasting a star-studded cast with the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport & Annabella Sciorra among others, who would've guessed Stallone would be the one to steal the show (this must be a once in a blue moon event)?
Our film focuses on the trials & tribulations of Freddy Heflin, played by an amicable & stocky Stallone. An all around likable & well-known figure, Freddy is the sheriff of a sleepy little town called Garrison, N.J. where his N.Y.P.D. buddies take haven & declare it their town. A feeling that Freddy is a little off-key pops up after observing him during first introductions. His first scene has him opening a parking meter to obtain quarters to finish his pinball game in the local pub. His facial expressions & actions suggest he's possibly inebriated (or on medication?), but as the film progresses we learn that Sheriff Heflin is a wannabee cop who's had a streak of bad luck over the years.
Freddy, as it turns out, isn't suited for a job on the force because he's half-deaf due to an ill-fated incident as a youth in which he saved the "girl of his dreams" from drowning in a car. The fact that his dream girl Liz (Annabella Sciorra) went on to marry an arrogant prick cop named Joey Randone (Peter Berg) certainly didn't help Freddy's self-esteem. But the shy & somber Freddy is treated like one of the "boys in blue" by his closest pal Ray Donlan (played by a brash Harvey Keitel) & his posse.
Controversy is soon enough ignited when Ray's fellow cop (& nephew) Murray (Michael Rapaport) is involved in a mistaken shootout on the George Washington Bridge which leaves 2 people dead & a worrisome & guilt plagued Murray allegedly committing suicide.
Finding himself embroiled in a lurid police cover-up, Freddy is offered the opportunity to be a true cop by Lt. Moe Tilden of I.A. (played by an ever efficacious Robert De Niro) if he assists in the investigation, as Moe's jurisdiction ends at the George Washington Bridge. Freddy's morality tug-of-war is worsened when he sees photos of his friends affiliating with the Mob. It's not too long before Freddy starts receiving advice & innuendos from his longtime cop friends to back off & look the other way.
Freddy is mentored by his insightful but short-tempered cop friend Gary "Figgsy" Figgis (Ray Liotta) who preaches about the loopholes of the law & is clearly a man embittered by the legal system & life in general (he sucker punches cop Jack Duffy (Robert Patrick) & sticks a dart up one of his nostrils for mouthing off about him and his girlfriend). Probably the second most awe-inspiring performance in the film next to Stallone's.
Mangold's script adds in minor subplots that aren't entirely necessary (the adulterous affair between Ray's wife & Liz's husband Joey, the still existent romance between Freddy & Liz) but in the end, the film provides us with rich character portraits (not to mention well filmed shootouts) & glues our attention to the conflicted Freddy & his turbulent task of righting the wrongs in his once picturesque community.
In closing: Copland resonates with that 1970's cop drama vibe of "man vs. the System" which echoes from such classics as Dirty Harry. I highly recommend this film to anyone, as was the case with Joe Carnahan's more recent film Narc (http://www.epinions.com/conte
Related reviews:
Narc (2002): http://www.epinions.com/conten
Stander (2003): http://www.epinions.com/conten
Boasting a star-studded cast with the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport & Annabella Sciorra among others, who would've guessed Stallone would be the one to steal the show (this must be a once in a blue moon event)?
Our film focuses on the trials & tribulations of Freddy Heflin, played by an amicable & stocky Stallone. An all around likable & well-known figure, Freddy is the sheriff of a sleepy little town called Garrison, N.J. where his N.Y.P.D. buddies take haven & declare it their town. A feeling that Freddy is a little off-key pops up after observing him during first introductions. His first scene has him opening a parking meter to obtain quarters to finish his pinball game in the local pub. His facial expressions & actions suggest he's possibly inebriated (or on medication?), but as the film progresses we learn that Sheriff Heflin is a wannabee cop who's had a streak of bad luck over the years.
Freddy, as it turns out, isn't suited for a job on the force because he's half-deaf due to an ill-fated incident as a youth in which he saved the "girl of his dreams" from drowning in a car. The fact that his dream girl Liz (Annabella Sciorra) went on to marry an arrogant prick cop named Joey Randone (Peter Berg) certainly didn't help Freddy's self-esteem. But the shy & somber Freddy is treated like one of the "boys in blue" by his closest pal Ray Donlan (played by a brash Harvey Keitel) & his posse.
Controversy is soon enough ignited when Ray's fellow cop (& nephew) Murray (Michael Rapaport) is involved in a mistaken shootout on the George Washington Bridge which leaves 2 people dead & a worrisome & guilt plagued Murray allegedly committing suicide.
Finding himself embroiled in a lurid police cover-up, Freddy is offered the opportunity to be a true cop by Lt. Moe Tilden of I.A. (played by an ever efficacious Robert De Niro) if he assists in the investigation, as Moe's jurisdiction ends at the George Washington Bridge. Freddy's morality tug-of-war is worsened when he sees photos of his friends affiliating with the Mob. It's not too long before Freddy starts receiving advice & innuendos from his longtime cop friends to back off & look the other way.
Freddy is mentored by his insightful but short-tempered cop friend Gary "Figgsy" Figgis (Ray Liotta) who preaches about the loopholes of the law & is clearly a man embittered by the legal system & life in general (he sucker punches cop Jack Duffy (Robert Patrick) & sticks a dart up one of his nostrils for mouthing off about him and his girlfriend). Probably the second most awe-inspiring performance in the film next to Stallone's.
Mangold's script adds in minor subplots that aren't entirely necessary (the adulterous affair between Ray's wife & Liz's husband Joey, the still existent romance between Freddy & Liz) but in the end, the film provides us with rich character portraits (not to mention well filmed shootouts) & glues our attention to the conflicted Freddy & his turbulent task of righting the wrongs in his once picturesque community.
In closing: Copland resonates with that 1970's cop drama vibe of "man vs. the System" which echoes from such classics as Dirty Harry. I highly recommend this film to anyone, as was the case with Joe Carnahan's more recent film Narc (http://www.epinions.com/conte
Related reviews:
Narc (2002): http://www.epinions.com/conten
Stander (2003): http://www.epinions.com/conten
Review ID: 10000000000392575
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