Movie Review: Brooklyn's Finest

What's right and wrong in the real world? In the opening scene of the new cop drama "Brooklyn's Finest," two men sit in a car discussing right and wrong. One is a drug dealer. The other is a cop. There's right and wrong, the dealer argues, and then there's righter and wronger. Sometimes a person does a wrong thing, breaks the law, but for a right reason. And that makes it righter.

Then one of them shoots the other.

That pretty much sums up the movie.

A meditation on right and wrong in a world where lines are not clear, this film by the director of Training Day, follows three police officers in Brooklyn as they walk down increasingly morally ambiguous roads.

Sal (Ethan Hawke) is a hard-working father. He works with a SWAT team that performs drug raids. As he sees the police department confiscate tens of thousands of dollars at a time, he worries about his ever-growing family, his sick wife, and the run-down house his salary allows him. A faithful Catholic, he wonders when God will help him out. 

Tango (Don Cheadle) has been undercover for so long he's forgetting what normal life looks like. His wife is leaving him, his home is barren. After a stint undercover in prison, he's formed a deep bond with Caz (Wesley Snipes), the drug lord he's trying to bring down. When police kill a black honor student in the projects, Tango doesn't know what side he's on. It seems the police are distinguishable from the thugs they hunt only by the uniform.

Eddie (Richard Gere) nears retirement with a cloud of failure over his head. He has a poor record as a cop, a drinking problem, and a reputation as a loser. His wife has left him and his closest relationship is with a young prostitute. Eddie just wants to finish out his days on the job, collect his retirement, and fade away. He no longer believes its possible to make a difference. He has made a habit of looking the other way when potential crime raises its head.

Eddie and Sal know each other only in passing. Neither knows Tango is a cop. But fate (otherwise known as a screenplay) draws them to the same drug den and gives each a chance at redemption.

Like in "Training Day," Fuqua wants to show a brutal, seedy, and downright evil world in all its fullness. The film is full of violent men doing violent things, constant swearing, and bloody battles. It also has explicit sex scenes showing female nudity.

However, these representations are fully believable in the world in which these officers live and only serve to make heroism, when it comes, that much more powerful.

With an attempt to address such powerful themes as redemption and damnation, the film occasionally dances on the edge of pretension. However, solid acting and confident direction keep it from veering too far that way.

There's a lot to unpack in the movie. Sal struggles with his faith, with his desire to serve God and his need to provide for his family by any means. A conversation he has with a priest in a confessional booth is deeply theological. Sal wants life on his own terms, not on God's. His faith is real, but it also is in conflict with his desires.

In the end, the film explores how even the best and bravest hearts can get twisted by conflicting loyalties. It also reflects on being a police officer. Sure, we know that brave men put their lives on the line to protect us, but how much does being on the front lines of civilization in a fallen world affect those who don't pay the ultimate sacrifice?

Quite a bit, it seems.