DVD Review: Pride and Glory 2-Disc Edition
Police Drama Deals with Corruption Within the NYPD
Pride and Glory Synopsis
When what appears to be a bad arrest gone wrong causes the death of four experienced police officers, police investigator Ray Tierney (Edward Norton) is assigned to a task force, whose mission is to elucidate whether there was any police corruption at play, in the murders of said valued police officers.
Ray's task is complicated by the fact that all four men were part of the same department where his brother-in-law, Sergeant Jimmy Egan (Colin Farrell), works out of, all under the watchful eye of Ray's brother Francis Tierney Jr. (Noah Emmerich).
When evidence surfaces that may point to the possibility of paid police involvement in crimes associated with a known local criminal (Rick Gonzalez), Ray is faced with the difficult moral decision of whether or not to risk the stability of his kin and their families, by exposing all involved to his superiors.
Pride and Glory Overall Analysis
One of the main problems with this film, is that it sells the mystery short, by including the audience in on the culprits from the get go. By making the viewer an accomplice to the fact that some of the officers are clearly involved in some drug and extortion corruption too early on in the film, all steam that could have moved the story forward, is lost. Such as it is, the movie has an uneven pace, taking a while to get to the point, and drags on after the first half-hour.
The feel of the movie is not unlike the recent Best Picture winner The Departed, where we see both sides of the police force, in honesty and corruption alike. However, the game of cat and mouse here is way too obvious, and all suspense which was intended out of the minutiae of tracking down Jimmy and his accomplices, burns out by the time Ray is faced with his dilemma.
Colin Farrell is not that great in this film, as he simply provides his usual assortment of angry faces (and swearing a lot for effect), which does not amount to a worthwhile performance. At least Edward Norton is given a bit more to do with his role than Farrell, as the disgraced brother whose personal and professional integrity depends on finding the copkiller(s).
Sadly, the rest of cast is just there as filler, though infrequent actor Noah Emmerich is decent for once, as Francis Jr. Emmerich is never cast as a main character, feeling more at home in supporting roles. Though this one has more meat on it than other past performances (you remember him in such movies as The Truman Show and Frequency, where he played a childhood friend who ends up cashing in on a time-travelling message to invest in Yahoo! later in life), he is still a semi-transparent character actor, who finally gets half a chance to shine on the forefront.
Other notable cast members include Jon Voight as the Tierney patriarch, Francis Sr., as well as Lake Bell, of former Boston Legal fame, and British actress Jennifer Ehle, of Pride and Prejudice BBC fame.
Pride and Glory DVD Features
There is but one featurette on the film, Source of Pride, where director Gavin O'Connor (along with his twin brother, producer Greg O'Connor) speak on the added value of filming on location in New York's borough, so to add realism. Also, O'Connor explains at length how he wanted to make real life NYPD cops see this film, and be able to say they got it right, both in feel and gritty detail. The now ubuquitous digital copy of the film is also available on the second disc, for iPod and portable device users.
Pride and Glory is a somewhat passable police drama, which could have been just as predictable as any highly rated episode of Homicide: Life on the Streets. However, the film falls into all-too familiar territory too quick, something which also happened on another recent Hollywood film, Righteous Kill .
6 out of 10, for giving away the goods way to early in the film, ruining any originaly intended suspense
Pride and Glory 2-Disc DVD Cover
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