Rampart (2012) directed by Oren Moverman
In Rampart, Woody Harrelson plays one of the more unlikeable movie characters in recent memory. It isn't necessarily because he is such a bad guy (there have been plenty of awesome bad guys you root for) but because he is bad without a hint of awesome or coolness to go with it. The whole bad cop routine has been done to death, perhaps none better than Denzel Washington in Training Day, but in that film you're in awe of Denzel because he is such a badass. In Rampart you are disgusted by Harrelson's character Dave Brown who is just downright nasty and rotten to the core.
Here is a crooked cop who bends rules any which way he pleases and justifies his actions as doing "the people's dirty work." He is the poster boy of the beleaguered LAPD with Rodney King still fresh in people's minds. In fact, he spends most of the film under investigation for a King-like beatdown caught on tape and another incident involving a questionable use of deadly force. But doing the people's dirty work is just an excuse for Dave to run wild on the streets. At least Popeye Doyle acted the way he did to catch the bad guy. Here, Dave may very well be the bad guy. But again this isn't really why we dislike Dave. We dislike him because he is a drunkard, a womanizer, misogynistic, racist, homophobic, a bad husband, and a bad father. These are actual words said to him by his own daughter in a heart to heart talk.
There is no real central plot in the film. Rather it is a character study of a man heading into a downward spiral. His actions have finally started to catch up to him and he has nowhere to turn to. We can only sit back and watch him fall and what an ugly ride it is. It is a gripping look at such a fascinatingly pathetic individual.
If I had to describe Rampart in one word it would be gritty, which seems to be the word for a lot of the cop dramas I have seen such as Serpico and The French Connection. The tough and gritty feel of the cinematography matches Dave's character. The sun drenched washed out colors and hand held cameras reminded me a lot of scenes I've seen from The Shield which is a good thing.
Grade: B
In Rampart, Woody Harrelson plays one of the more unlikeable movie characters in recent memory. It isn't necessarily because he is such a bad guy (there have been plenty of awesome bad guys you root for) but because he is bad without a hint of awesome or coolness to go with it. The whole bad cop routine has been done to death, perhaps none better than Denzel Washington in Training Day, but in that film you're in awe of Denzel because he is such a badass. In Rampart you are disgusted by Harrelson's character Dave Brown who is just downright nasty and rotten to the core.
Here is a crooked cop who bends rules any which way he pleases and justifies his actions as doing "the people's dirty work." He is the poster boy of the beleaguered LAPD with Rodney King still fresh in people's minds. In fact, he spends most of the film under investigation for a King-like beatdown caught on tape and another incident involving a questionable use of deadly force. But doing the people's dirty work is just an excuse for Dave to run wild on the streets. At least Popeye Doyle acted the way he did to catch the bad guy. Here, Dave may very well be the bad guy. But again this isn't really why we dislike Dave. We dislike him because he is a drunkard, a womanizer, misogynistic, racist, homophobic, a bad husband, and a bad father. These are actual words said to him by his own daughter in a heart to heart talk.
There is no real central plot in the film. Rather it is a character study of a man heading into a downward spiral. His actions have finally started to catch up to him and he has nowhere to turn to. We can only sit back and watch him fall and what an ugly ride it is. It is a gripping look at such a fascinatingly pathetic individual.
If I had to describe Rampart in one word it would be gritty, which seems to be the word for a lot of the cop dramas I have seen such as Serpico and The French Connection. The tough and gritty feel of the cinematography matches Dave's character. The sun drenched washed out colors and hand held cameras reminded me a lot of scenes I've seen from The Shield which is a good thing.
Grade: B
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