Police dramas are one and the same now. All involve family ties, all have that one bad cop and all talk about the idea of protecting the badge rather than ratting out their fellow comrades. In “Pride and Glory,” director Gavin O’Connor, along with co-writer Joe Carnahan, tries to take a different approach at the police life and, in instances, it worked. But those instances, along with the superb acting, can only blindside the audience for so long before they realize how ridiculous the ending is and how repetitious these police stories have become.
The family of cops in New York consists of Ray Tierney (Edward Norton), a cop with a checkered past, his brother Francis Jr. (Noah Emmerich), ex-police chief Francis Sr. (Jon Voight) and their brother-in-law Jimmy (Colin Farrell). Indeed, blue runs down their veins.
When a drug deal goes bad and four cops were killed, Ray is brought in to investigate. The cops that are dead were under Junior’s command. As he digs deeper into the case, Ray realizes that this isn’t any ordinary bust gone wrong, but cops are involved. All signs point to Jimmy, who has been paying out drug dealers to kill other dealers. But then, when one of his targets escapes, it can expose him and the operation he’s been doing.
The question of loyalty to the badge is a prevalent theme in this film. Cops will always protect other cops through thick and thin because they are the ones that put their lives on the line every day. Ray ponders that through the whole ordeal because, not only would he be exposing a corrupt cop, but this investigation would also tie back to corruption within his own family. Doing what’s right isn’t the same as doing the right thing. O’Connor and Carnahan present these muddled questions effectively.
What O’Connor didn’t do effectively is shoot the film. Why would a shaky handheld camera be necessary to watch people get shot up? Paul Greengrass’ take on action with his method in the last two “Bourne” films showed that kind of movement can pump up the adrenaline on screen. O’Connor did it probably because his production company couldn’t afford real cameras.
It’s understandable that O’Connor wants to put the audience with the feel and look of what New York City is like. But does everything have to be in a blue lens? Sure, it’s a cop film and we understand the whole idea behind that color but couldn’t there be some other type of filter used? If we were to head to New York City right now, chances are the only thing blue there is the sky, maybe.
The acting is top-notch. Norton can create intensity and drama within his own character. The conflict within himself is killing him and he conveys that to us. Voight and Emmerich are solid as well, respectively. Farrell has been one of the most inconsistent actors in the business but acting with the likes of the aforementioned, he picked his game up a notch.
Not to disclose the ending (but if one was watching this film, chances one would know how it ends), but it involves a fistfight between two cops. How all this investigating and corruption within the department be summed up with two people with a badge kicking each other’s asses as a finale is incomprehensible. If this fight was somewhere in the middle of the film that would be understandable, but as part of the conclusion, it is dumbfounding.
O’Connor had something going with “Pride and Glory.” The story wasn’t exactly original but the focus between family, cops and loyalty is truly engaging. The acting is superb across the board but some of the director’s miscues and the stupidity of such an ending make this film hard to recommend. It was better than last year’s “We Own the Night” but nowhere near the likes of “The Departed.”