Behind stories of hard-boiled cops on the beat of gritty city streets can often be found a disheartening reality, in that the cops who patrol the streets might not be the most grounded people. Maybe they have as many skeletons in their closets as the crooks and criminals they pursue. Though not an original theme, Antoine Fuqua captures it incredibly well in Brooklyn's Finest
The story is focused on three different policemen, all of different divisions, but all are of the same breed. Richard Gere plays Eddie, a veteran cop still on the beat after 22-years, one week away from his pension. He has seen everything, and his complete apathy to do so much as stop a man from hitting his wife while out of his precinct illustrates his “bare minimum” approach of just getting the job done so he can retire and get his life together. You'll likely not encounter an officer patrolling your street older than Eddie, and you'll certainly not encounter an officer more jaded. Richard Gere's stone face is put to good use here, as the only smiles you'll see him make are in spite of the life he leads.
Ethan Hawke plays Sal, a narcotics detective carrying the heavy load of a stressful job at work, and carrying an even heavier load at home with his handful of children, pregnant wife, and the financial burdens many on a cop's salary would likely face. To make things worse, the very house he and his family live in is made out of unsafe material, leading to medical problems for his wife.
Moving from a smaller house to a bigger house to accommodate his expanding family turns from want to necessity when his wife is hospitalized, and the only money to be had is the stacks of cash he finds on drug busts. Ethan Hawke knows his way around a dark story; I can't really think of many comedy roles he's portrayed. Anyway, he does good here, and his story is a very believable one, as most of us know cops are not among the world's wealthiest people, yet harbor the same personal troubles, compounded by problems at work none of us will have to endure.
In one of the more involved story lines, Don Cheadle plays Tango, an undercover cop in very, very deep. He is itching for a desk job, to get out from behind enemy lines and do work that doesn't involve watching his friend, Caz, a drug lord played by Wesley Snipes, spiral downward in a life of crime. Tango's an honest guy looking to lead a more honest life, and will do anything to achieve it, until his police bosses arrange for a take down of Caz in order to take some heat off of a criminal police officer in an unrelated matter.
Of course, there are a couple brief moments of inconsequential crossovers between the three cops, until the end, when everything clashes in one of Brooklyn's more crime-ridden project buildings. One of the most impressive parts of this film is that it in fact was filmed in these shady locations. Antoine Fuqua took his cast and crew into seriously dodgy areas to make this film right, and with that he succeeded greatly in presenting his audience with a down-and-dirty cop film that seems more accurate than most others in its genre. Even without the terrific performances, the film is a very interesting one to look at.
It runs a little long, which is surprising seeing how many deleted scenes were taken out already, but that shouldn't deter you from seeing this. If not for the scenery, if not for the performances, see it in regard to the fact that, as far fetched as these stories could seem to you, there's a great amount of realism to them. This was the screenwriter Michael C. Martin's debut script, as well, and it seems he double-checked to make sure this was translatable on one level or another.
DVD Bonus Features
Apart from the trailer, there are several deleted scenes (a few more should have joined them), and a good amount of great featurettes. “Chaos and Conflict,” which has the main cast and director and screenwriter going over the basics of the film as far as themes and writing and direction. “Boyz n the Real Hood” delves into the decision of shooting on location and how everybody, the cast, the crew and the neighborhoods they shot in, embraced this fact.
“An Eye for Detail” is about director Antoine Fuqua and his artistic methods and choices. “From the MTA to the WGA,” which is a short bio on screenwriter Michael C. Martin, who, up until the point of production, was working in a toll booth for the New York City subway. And “Three Cops and a Dealer” which is mostly a character profile delivered by the actors themselves. All the featurettes are very well made, but definitely watch the feature before watching the extras, as there are big spoilers within.
"Brooklyn's Finest" is on sale July 6, 2010 and is rated R. Crime-Thriller. Directed by Antoine Fuqua. Written by Michael C. Martin. Starring Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Richard Gere, Wesley Snipes.
