Pride And Glory
- Year:2009
- Rating:MA
- Director:Gavin O'Connor
- Cast:Colin Farrell, Edward Norton, Jon Voight
- Release Date:February 05, 2009
- Distributor:Roadshow
- Running time:130 minutes
- Film Worth:$5.00
- FILMINK rates movies out of $20 - the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
“...doesn’t convince.”
Al Pacino's Serpico wouldn't take the money, Steve McQueen's Bullitt had integrity to a fault, and Gene Hackman's Popeye Doyle worked the streets like a man possessed to discover The French Connection. These stories are of another time, and the "honest cop" genre now feels worn and dull like a bad TV show. Joe Carnahan's 2004 cop drama Narc served up the same dog-eared scenario, yet made it fresh and sharp. He scripted this latest offering for director Gavin O'Connor (the not-bad Kurt Russell starrer, Miracle), who is similarly paying tribute to the Sidney Lumet-style cop dramas of the seventies.
Edward Norton is Ray Tierney, a burnt out cop on medical leave dragged back to active duty by his overbearing father Francis Snr. (Jon Voight) to investigate the slaughter of four fellow cops. Oldest brother Francis Jnr. (Noah Emmerich) and brother-in-law Jimmy Egan (Colin Farrell) are cops as well, so after a little poking about, Ray discovers some loose ends that don't add up, notably the dodgy dealings of Jimmy. As Ray's investigation proceeds, he inadvertently picks a scab concealing a lot of pus, and the film tumbles towards an inevitable conclusion.
As a drama, Pride And Glory is too glum, and worse, it doesn't convince. Norton is solid, and Voight is better than he's been for a long time, but Farrell's Jimmy borders on caricature; it's a shame really, as the actor proved how great he can be with the brilliant In Bruges. O'Connor ratchets up Jimmy's ugly methods with one absurd interrogation scene where the crazed cop threatens to steam iron a newborn baby's face. It seems that the seventies film ethos has escaped O'Connor; Pride And Glory could have used less bluster, and more character. And would it hurt to have a little nuance?
