Brooklyn's Finest (2009)
Directed by Antoine Fuqua
Written by Michael C. Martin
Starring Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Lily Taylor, Ellen Barkin
Release Date March 5th, 2010
Published March 4th, 2010
There is sluggishness to the alpha male posing of Brooklyn's Finest the latest in a long line of troubled cop movies. Richard Gere, Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke play a three headed monster of ethically compromised cops in one of the toughest precincts in New York City. Stop me if you've heard that story before.
Richard Gere plays Eddie in Brooklyn's Finest, a depressed cop seven days from retirement. An inveterate drunk, Eddie plans on not getting killed in his last week as a cop and if that means letting a few calls go by so be it. Bad luck for Eddie that he gets stuck breaking in rookies in a week in which his Brooklyn precinct is all over the headlines.
A cop has been arrested for robbing what he thought was a drug dealer but turned out to be an honor student. Meanwhile another cop, Sal (Ethan Hawke) has just murdered and robbed an informant (Vincent D'Onofrio) and is ready for more robbing and killing as he looks to move his growing family, 5 kids with twins on the way, out of a rickety row house.
While Eddie longs for retirement and Sal risks his life in more and more dangerous fashion, Tango (Don Cheadle) seems safe by comparison, working undercover on the streets hoping to take down a major drug gang. Sure, he's dealing with deadly thugs on a daily basis but his cover is so strong he seems impervious to the danger.
In fact, Tango's cover is so good one might wonder which side he's on, especially after he gets close with Caz (Wesley Snipes) a major drug dealer fresh out of prison. Caz saved Tango's life when Tango began his undercover stint in prison. Now, as Cas is getting acclimated to the streets again, Tango questions whether he can take him down.
There is drama to be found in director Antoine Fuqua's violence fueled narrative but not much of it resonates beyond what has come before it in other, better cop movies. Fuqua's own Training Day, with Ethan Hawke no less, is a far more interesting and daring film in comparison to the well worn path walked by Brooklyn's Finest.
Don Cheadle delivers a standout performance as the least conflicted of the conflicted cops. Cheadle is a compelling actor whose intense gaze brims with calculating intelligence. To look at Cheadle is to want to know what he's thinking and follow his every deliberate move.
Ethan Hawke and Richard Gere are far less successful. Hawke is among the least convincing Italian cops in movie history putting on accent only when calling out to his stereotypically named kids Vinnie and Joey. Gere's Eddie is merely pathetic. One can argue that he is pathetic with a purpose, his redemption will rely on rock bottom dwelling, but a scene in which he proposes to a hooker is more laughable than sad.
A mixed bag of cop movie clichés, New York stereotypes and the occasional bit of hardcore violence, Brooklyn's Finest holds promise for fans of Don Cheadle and little else. One would be better served picking up Cheadle's exceptional performance in Out of Sight for a similarly smart and more nuanced performance.
