Film File - Brooklyn's Finest

In the latest outing from Antoine Fuqua, who directed the mesmerising 'Training Day' with Denzel Washington a few years back, we enter the world of 'NYPD Blue', specifically, three cops operating out of the Brooklyn district. Veteran Eddie Dugan (Richard Gere) is just one week away from his pension and a fishing cabin in Connecticut; narcotics officer Sal Procida (Ethan Hawke) has discovered there's no line he won't cross to provide a better life for his pain-afflicted wife and children, and Clarence 'Tango' Butler (Don Cheadle), a cop who's been undercover so long his loyalties have started to shift from his fellow police officers to his former prison buddy Caz (Wesley Snipes), one of Brooklyn's most infamous drug dealers. With personal and work pressures bearing down on them, each man faces his own tests of judgment and honour in a job where the fine line between right and wrong can easily be blurred. When the police department's Operation Clean-Up targets the notoriously drug-ridden BK housing project, all three officers find themselves swept up in the violence and corruption of Brooklyn's notorious 65th Precinct and its unique assortment of criminals. Over seven fateful days, the three cops find themselves hurtling inextricably toward the same fatal crime scene and a shattering collision with destiny. Returning the similar themes of loyalty and the necessities of life that can force low-paid police officers on $25,000 a year into the difficult task of turning their backs on the bundles of cash they often encounter during drug raids, Fuqua expertly peels away the thin veneer separating those who promise to protect and serve from the criminals they encounter on a daily basis. This is law at the cutting edge - without the heroics and good-guy antics of Bruce Willis in 'Die Hard'. Everybody is corruptible in some way, it's just a matter of how long they can hold out from temptation. With an unconventional narrative line that spotlights the three lead characters, 'Brooklyn's Finest' portrays the inner demons of three flawed men whose actions drive the film. Tango is an undercover cop who wants a more normal life and a place where his innate intelligence might be better employed, while financial issues are at the heart of Sal's problems with a dilapidated home, an arthritic wife, five kids and two more on the way. Hawke, who earned an Oscar nomination for his role as a rookie cop in 'Training Day', is particularly effective as the man grappling with the sadness of dreams versus reality. The third officer, Eddie Dugan, played well by Gere - an actor whose recent choices of roles play well to his gathering maturity and the pretty boy looks disappearing - is only a few days from retirement, in love with a streetwalker, and bereft of optimism despite his outward appearance of calm. Like Fuqua's sharply observed' Training Day', this is is gritty, real-life stuff - not as smart as 'The Wire', mind, but engaging all the same. Hinging on the progress of three individuals on the edge and their progress toward an eventual dramatic finale, this movie is a dense drama with enough thrill moments to maintain its entertainment value - at times, the dialogue and atmospheric gloom is so well realised the film takes on a docu-drama aspect that contributes further to its impact. The supporting cast has a number of winning cameos, including Ellen Barkin, who also produced, as well as Ireland's Brian F O'Brien - an actor who's come a long way since his stunning debut in Martin McDonagh's 'The Lonesome West' some years ago.