Rampart

Greetings again from the darkness. Dirty cops happen in real life sometimes and in the movies quite often. It can be an intriguing subject to explore ... psychological demons, ego, power-mongering, etc. Typically we see it presented as a cop torn between doing the right thing and feeling like he is owed something. Rarely do we see a cop portrayed as beyond hope ... so far gone morally that redemption is no longer even a possibility.

Writer James Ellroy (LA Confidential) and director Oren Moverman (The Messenger) present to us Officer Dave Brown, known to his fellow cops (and even his daughter) as "Date Rape" Dave. The moniker stems from a vice incident where Brown dished out street justice to a serial date rapist. With no proof of his guilt, Brown remained on the force and his rogue manner has escalated to the point where he is a constant danger to himself and others. This guy has no moral filter for everyday living.

Officer Brown is played with searing intensity by a Woody Harrelson you have never before seen. As loathsome a character as you will ever find, you cannot take your eyes off of him. He is hated by EVERYONE! Somehow he has daughters by two sisters and they all live together in a messed up commune where hate is the secret word of the day, every day. Most of the time no one speaks to Dave except to tell him to "get out". He spends his off hours drinking, smoking, doing drugs and having meaningless sex. Heck, that's just about how he spends his time while on duty as well.

The supporting cast is phenomenal, though most aren't given but a scene or two. This includes Robin Wright (who nearly matches Dave in the tortured soul department), Sigourney Weaver, Anne Heche, Cynthia Nixon, Ned Beatty, Ben Foster, Ice Cube, and Steve Buscemi. The first hour feels like an Actor's Retreat as most every scene introduces another familiar face.

Still, as terrific as Harrelson is, and as deep as the cast is, the film is just too one note and downbeat and hopeless to captivate a viewer. I also found some of Moverman's camera work to be quite distracting and the sex club scene was pure overkill. Downward spiral is much too neutral a term to describe this character and ultimately, that prevents the film from delivering any type of message.

Rampart (2011)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Woody Harrelson gives a tour de force performance playing David Brown, one of the last dirty cops still working for the LAPA in 1999. He's a dirty cop who doesn't seem to realize he is one. He was once married to two different women, sisters, and now he tries to keep them and their kids in the same house so that they can live the way a "family" is supposed to yet he doesn't realize that a good family life isn't by having kids with two sisters. Brown finally gets in over his head when he's filmed beating a man and this sets off a range of events that leave him spinning out of control. RAMPART, written by James Ellroy and director Oren Moverman, doesn't tell a straight crime story but instead it really looks at a bad man and tries to explain why he's bad. I think the bottom line is that the film is simply trying to say that there are bad people out there who are just bad all the way around and it doesn't have to be for lust, money or fame. While I do question some of the directorial choices and I think a little more focus would have helped, the main reason to check this film out is for the wonderful performances from the all-star cast. Sigourney Weaver plays a DA tired of a cop thinking he can get away with anything. Cynthia Nixon and Anne Heche are good as the ex-wives. You have Robin Wright turning in a very effective performance as a mysterious woman who enters the cops life. Ice Cube is effective in his few scenes as is Ben Foster playing a crippled vet. We even get Steve Buscemi and Ned Beatty in small but effective roles. Of course, the entire cast centers around the performance of Harrelson and this is certainly yet more proof that when given the right material he can be one of the most raw and effective actors out there. Harrelson is so effective no matter if he's just listening or speaking because you can just look at him and see all the rage and emotion built up. I really thought the actor did a remarkable job at letting the slime slip out of this character without making him a flat out creep or going so over-the-top where you feel like you're watching someone fake. I won't spoil the ending but it's certainly one that makes you think about the events you've just seen. RAMPART isn't a flawless movie but the performances are so strong that it's highly recommended.

All four stars are for the cast. It's not their fault this movie is awful.

Harrelson is great. He's an engaging actor, totally believable. It's a shame the script isn't.

Harrelson plays a brutal, murderous cop who is caught beating down a black guy in the street. Yet his home life is ultra liberal, he lives with two sisters, with whom he's had two kids during separate relationships. One of his daughters is pushing boundaries yet Woody doesn't seem to challenge this, one of the sisters is an artist, again not exactly fitting in with the hard-line discipline Harrelson is dishing out on the street. He's immediately defined as a sexist, racist homophobe, yet we're asked to believe that he's knocked up two intelligent, lefty sisters, who are still willing to accommodate him in their lives, and indeed home, despite his lifetime of indiscretions and violence and that he's managed to split this work and home life without a significant issue developing through the life of the girls (the eldest of who is mid teens at least). The family dynamic could have been interesting but it wasn't explored at all really, it just got crammed in and thus didn't fit with the character at all.

The supporting cast is really strong and the acting is solid throughout but not one of the plots get developed and not one aspect reaches a conclusion. Obviously, this was done on purpose but if I pay to see a film, I want to see the whole ****ing film, not just half a story! Buscemi has about three lines. Ice Cube, who I rate highly, has a handful of scenes as an internal investigator, all of which are well enough constructed but end without any resolution. Robin Wright is great, foxy as ****, but again, other than to identify Harrelson as a paranoid womaniser, we get nothing back. Anne Henche and Cynthia Nixon play his former partners and both are well played again but they're just sketches of characters, as is Sigourney Weaver, also restricted to about 3 minutes of screen time.

Basically, it feels like the first, long, episode in a made for TV series. If that was the case, I'd certainly watch more because there is a lot there and the on screen talent is superb but as a stand alone film it's a massive let down and it goes absolutely nowhere at the end of 2 hours.

Oh, and the sex club scene is particularly pointless, if any such scene can be. It just seems like a random bit of editing that has shoved a half idea into an already over-stretched concept.

I had no idea what this was based on before I went in to watch it. Everyone (well many) were raving about Woody Harrelsons performance. But the feeling I got from the movie, the vibe it has, does remind one of James Ellroy. Especially if you have read one of his novels (which conveniently enough I just had finished one).

What you have to accept (if you can), is the fact, that this is a very dark miserable, but strangely endearing person. The character Woodys playing does not feel he's doing anything wrong. And you have to admire the honesty (he doesn't pretend, he's a straight shooter). Sometimes you may admire him, sometimes you may hate him. But you cannot say that he is fake.

Having said that, this matter will decide if you like or hate the movie. It's not really an easy movie at all. I wouldn't dare calling the watching experience as pleasant, but it sure was something incredible!

Regarded in the trailer as "one of the most corrupt cops ever on screen," Woody Harrelson's character was honestly underwhelming. The actor did an exceptional job portraying a dirty cop, but was no where near the capacity of evil as Denzel in Training Day or Damon in The Departed. His portrayal was very real which is a characteristic that Oren Moverman appears to gravitate to in his films and while Moverman, in his second theatrical film, does a good job, it is no where near what he achieved in his amazing debut The Messenger. Harrelson did a fine job but he also failed to achieve the same greatness that he displayed in The Messanger as well. Some of the talented character actors in the film like Ben Foster and Sigourney Weaver deliver solid performances but aren't on screen enough make any impact overall to the film. It's a film that due to it's original limited release will likely struggle at the box office and moviegoers aren't missing too much in the process. I enjoy dramatic movies more than any other genre, but I found this film bland and the characters for the most part only OK at best. The actors did a good job but not good enough to make the film a success. There was just no wow factor in this film, which anticipated the wow factor being Harrelson's villainous performance. I'd give it a C in large part due to a broad and bland plot which could've been much better.