Cop Land
Greetings, ‘Cop Land’ is a crime film from 1997 that was written and directed by James Mangold. Mangold’s cinematic career was briefly discussed a few months ago on this blog as he later went on to direct the disappointing ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ in which the titular hero is trotted out once more for a lacklustre adventure. For a movie I wasn’t familiar with until recently, I was surprised to learn how much of an all-star cast ‘Cop Land’ had. It boasts an impressive roster of talent including Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Ray Lolita and Harvey Keitel among its primary cast with actors like Michael Rapaport and Robert Patrick playing more supporting roles. The music was composed by Howard Shore who is known for his musical contributions to the ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit’ trilogies as well as collaborating on some of David Cronenberg’s movies including 1986’s ‘The Fly’.
The plot begins by introducing the fictional town of Garrison in New Jersey, a place that is a short distance from New York City and home to many serving police officers who patrol the American metropolis. The law states that NYPD officers are supposed to reside in the city itself but a number of cops, using a legal loophole, categorized themselves as ‘Auxiliary Transit Cops’ and were therefore able to reside in Garrison. The officers suggested that their reasoning behind this decision is so they don’t have to live in constant fear of gang reprisals but it also means they aren’t subject to NYPD’s Internal Affairs Division. Garrison is a peaceable place and is under the protection of one Sherriff Freddy Heflin. He is a man who wants more from his life than watching over a town in which nothing seems to happen but he had his aspirations of joining the NYPD dashed after he lost his hearing in one ear during a successful rescue attempt. When Freddy was a younger man, a woman had steered her car off a bridge and plunged herself into a river. The heroic Helfin had dived in after her and saved her life without any hesitation.
After a night of drinking in a seedy bar, off duty Officer Murray Babitch tries to drives himself home and runs over a glass bottle while starting off his journey. He is nearly involved in an accident when two African-American youths intentionally swerve their car aggressively at Babitch when he is attempting to cross the George Washington Bridge. The spooked cop hears a loud noise and believes he is being shot at by the aggressive driver. Babitch instinctively opens fire and kills the two delinquents in a state of panic. With their car brought to a halt, the trembling police officer checks it out and is distraught to find no weapon in the vehicle while he discovers his own wheel was blown out by a puncture. It isn’t long before the paramedics and NYPD show up to the massacre. A frightened Babitch informs his uncle Ray Donlan, a figure of authority in the police force, what happened. Donlan attempts to clear his nephew’s name by ordering one of his men, a dirty cop, to plant a used gun in the car. This act was caught by one of the paramedics and causes a fight between the medical team and the corrupt cops. During the commotion, an alarmed Ray shouts that the distressed Babitch had jumped off the bridge and he demands that a search party is sent out immediately.
I went into this movie with no real expectations of what it would entail but when the credits began to roll I knew that I had definitely enjoyed it. Stallone gives a very down to earth performance that is among his best works and the rest of the seasoned cast are very memorable. The movie is a far cry from the dumb over the top action flick that I half-thought it would be but that style of genre appeared to be in decline during the late 1990s when ‘Cop Land’ was made. It’s a gritty story in which the plot slowly unravels and it takes its time in building up to a satisfying showdown that feels very plausible. I’m not entirely sure why this film has been largely forgotten as time moved on or why it never developed more of a following than it has but if you are in the mood for an underappreciated crime picture then this might just be the one for you.
Plot=8/10
Characters=7/10
Special Effects=8/10
Overall=8/10
Quote of the Day
A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti. You fly back to school now, little Starling. Fly, fly, fly. Fly, fly, fly.
Dr. Hannibal Lecter
The Silence of the Lambs
