Dirty

DIRTY seems to be confused as to what it is. The viewer is lead to believe that the LAPD has an undercover anti-gang force made op of ex-gangbangers who know the streets and therefore know how to break the codes that allow gang crimes of drugs and violence to continue unfettered by arrests. Yes, we are all aware of the Rampart scandal that perhaps is the nidus for this story, but what DIRTY shows is a group of despicable, foul mouthed, evil, crime perpetrating opportunists who will do anything to make a hit - all 'protected' by a police force that condones their actions.

Cuba Gooding, Jr. is a fine actor whose recent roles have not allowed him to demonstrate his craft. Perhaps he wanted a role as a bad guy (in the vein of Denzel Washington, Richard Gere et al who opt for smarmy roles to 'prove' their acting grit!), but he is artificial in this film as a man willing and waiting to do filthy deeds without conscience. He is paired with the also fine actor Clifton Collins, Jr. as the Hispanic equivalent of Gooding's Black bad cop. The story jumps all over the place with so many subplots and characters identifiable only by their total body tattoo differences and hampered by a script that depends on the F word and the N word and M**F** word as a means of communication.

Gooding and Collins are partners and while Gooding seems to be the major offender to decency, Collins does little about it, leading us to believe he is an innocent victim to the Internal Affairs investigation that appears to be the endpoint of this drama. Just when the viewer is saturated by the dirt of this film's techniques and story, the gritty collision of loyalty and redemption enters at the very end, making reflection on the tale that has been assaulting our senses almost embarrassing for the viewer. In the police code, what is permissible, what is wrong, what is justifiable? Fighting crime with crime doesn't seem a viable answer, but we are left asking the question 'What is?' A disturbing film on many levels, not the least of which is the fact that Gooding's agent needs a heads up on finding this gifted actor some worthy roles! Grady Harp

Dirty will unfortunately draw comparison to Training Day, but if you can get past the similarities of the cover of this book, the content will come back strong and stand alone as a polished original. This movie reminds you that with decisive, deliberate direction, an excellent score and solid performances, a routine storyline can serve as the boilerplate foundation for the more difficult aspects of film-making to shine.

Collins has always been a favorite of mine to watch; almost singlehandedly destroying stereotypes of Latino actors while simultaneously stewing in the shallow pool of roles offered him. His stand out performances in 187 and Tigerland have only been improved in Dirty with his ability to bring humanity and sincerity to his otherwise bland characters. Gooding pulls it off in the end, almost through the sheer pleasure of watching him portray such an off-type character that the "over the top" performance was a necessity to draw your attention away from the believability of his playing the role. It was as if with every screamed expletive he was daring you to not take him seriously.

Dirty is a poster child film for how a director through what would appear to be either deliberate, clever and wise choices for the cast and crew or was very lucky in the outcome. But to this writer that is the magic of film-making. The end result of this film looks like a seamless collaboration of professionals turning out what is an interesting, exciting, visceral portrayal of bad cops and worse cops trying to outplay the system. Luck can only take you so far, and no doubt every component played a part in making this film work. The cinematography keeps the grit and grime of the streets in full focus, and the action and sometimes brutal violence is always just around the corner to snap your attention back into place as the plot moves forward.

To compare this movie to any other is doing it a disservice. Dirty takes any preconceived lemons it clearly had as a disadvantage going in, and made lemonade worth a second glass. Try it, you won't be disappointed.

7/10 - Maddis

In a Los Angeles dominated by violent gangs and a corrupt LAPD Precinct, the dirty Officer Armando Sancho (Clifton Collins Jr.) is haunted by his guilty since an innocent old man was accidentally killed in an operation with his also dirty partner Salim Adel (Cuba Gooding Jr.). The Internal Affairs is pressing Sancho, who feels split between the loyalty to his mates and his conscience, and he has to make a statement at 6:00 PM. When his superiors Captain Spain (Keith David) and his Lieutenant (Cole Hauser) assign the two cops for an operation dealing drugs apprehended by the police and stored as evidence with a powerful drug dealer, Sancho feels that something is wrong and they have been framed.

"Dirty" has a promising beginning, with the chain of thoughts of Officer Sancho about corruption ("With power came responsibility; with responsibility came opportunity; with opportunity came corruption, a plague where everybody gets sick"). His dramatic feelings, haunted by the ghost of an innocent man and feeling awful as a finger-pointing rat, give the sensation that Sancho is a rich contradictory character to be developed. However, the story is pointless, showing a hopeless society in a city dominated by gangs, lost youth and corrupt police force, but without any message in the end. I had never expected the redemption of any character, but I found the unpleasant plot a caricature and very manipulative view of the LAPD. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Dirty – O Poder da Corrupção" ("Dirty – The Power of the Corruption")

Some great performances and a good story. The score was really cool, setting the mood throughout the movie and I thought Gooding did a convincing turn as a cop. Inevitably this will be compared to Denzel Washington's performance in Training Day. And although the budget for this film was probably a quarter of Trainign Day's, I think this film is superior. Why? The last 15 minutes in Training Day were a mess and tainted the movie. Here, the performances are on par and there's no ridiculous John Woo-type chase/action scene to end on. Clifton Collins is great and Gooding reminds us what an actor he can be if his agent gives him a halfway-decent script to work with. I recommend.

A really strong performance from Clifton Collins Jr, combined with an excellent bad cop come good cop story from Chris Fisher and Gil Reavill with excellent acting from Cuba and Clifton, really great chemistry between them both, really solid acting made this film a knock-out, a really good compliment to films like training day. I would highly recommend this film if you enjoyed training day like me. Some great camera angles with the action scenes contributed towards some great tension and atmosphere, very enjoyable with some great faces like Wyclef Jean, Cole Hauser, Tory Kittles, Khleo Thomas, and Keith David to top it off. Rent it or buy it now! top marks. I hope cuba Forgets films like snowdogs, and continues with films like this and End Game, easily his best film since boyz n the hood.