Conspiração Policial

There's a strong resemblance to the much praised L.A. CONFIDENTIAL in this vivid story of crime and corruption on the police force, based partially on a true story involving these events.

Basically, it's the tale of a black police rookie who tries to fit in by covering corrupt practices and tries to uncover the truth behind the false prosecution of a black man (ICE CUBE). The black rookie (MICHEAL BOATMAN) suffers slurs inherent with being the first black man on the force and other social injustices within the department.

All the performances are first rate, beginning with Boatman, who does a fine job, MICHAEL ANDERSON, BERNIE CASEY (especially good as Ice Cube's lawyer), and ELLIOT GOULD--all first rate. LORI PETTY is also convincing as the only woman rookie who helps Boatman in his investigation. MICHAEL IRONSIDE is chilling as one of Anderson's most corrupt officers.

Given terse direction by Charles Burnett in well paced, brisk, documentary style, it maintains a grip on the attention throughout as it unravels a tale of police corruption and the hard decisions that have to be made.

I just saw _The Glass Shield_ for the first time since it was released theatrically. I'm very glad to say it hasn't gone stale with time. Despite the violent overtones, the film is a subtle and compelling parable on race, power, and sex in the US. It won't satisfy anyone with the attention span of a fruit-fly or a fetish for blood and guts, but it gets under your skin (so to speak) if you pay it the slightest bit of attention.

As a side note — this is one of the very few feature films chosen by the Whitney Museum of American Art for its biennial surveys of contemporary art (there was another film that year as well, _The Hours and Times_, also excellent).

What year was this made again? 1994. Oh, I thought it was made 2020. That just goes to show how long there have been issues between Black folks and the police. Not that I needed "Glass Shield" to inform me of that. The '92 Rodney King verdict was enough to wake me up.

"Glass Shield" is an upsetting movie. It taps the nerve center. Conspiracies and corruption always elicit a strong reaction--mix racial injustice in there and you have a real deadly brew.

John Johnson (Michael Boatman) was a wide-eyed rookie sheriff just added to the Edgemar station in L.A. County. He was the only Black sheriff, but he wasn't going to let that upset his plans to become a cop.

His loyalties were tested when an officer Bono (Don Harvey) detained Teddy Woods (Ice Cube) at a gas station. Johnson backed up Bono and backed him up again later on in court. Teddy Woods was arrested and later charged with murder which would be the central part of the overall plot.

"Glass Shield" at its core is about police corruption and the "thin blue line." It's not far-fetched corruption that a sound-minded person could never fathom; it is corruption right in the wheelhouse of what has been seen from our various law enforcement agencies: mysterious inmate suicides, improper arrests, tainted evidence, racial bias, and more. "Glass Shield" is a rousing movie that will stoke the emotions, it's unfortunate that it is still so relevant.

Michael Boatman ('Spin City') plays J. J. Johnson, an ambitious young black policeman who gets singled out for an honor: he is posted to the Sheriffs' Department at Edgemar Station. As the only black lawman there, he is a definite outsider, as is Deborah Fields (Lori Petty, "Point Break"), the only female cop with the department. J. J. Is at first content not to make waves, and to support his fellow officers, but he comes to learn just how crooked and racist they all are.

The main story thread deals with an innocent young black man, Teddy Woods (Ice Cube), who is hassled and turned into a convenient suspect when a mans' wife is murdered.

This is a good story inspired by a real-life case and an un-produced screenplay by Ned Welsh. We do see how these men in these positions of authority have been abusing that authority for a long time, and we are properly frustrated at seeing how hard it is to take them down. It benefits from having a lead character who is not so squeaky-clean, making his big mistake by initially taking the side of his fellow officers. The antagonists are all thoroughly disreputable types guaranteed to get some viewers' blood boiling.

Boatman does a solid job anchoring the tale with his sincere performance, and has good chemistry with Petty. But this thing has an *amazing* supporting cast full of familiar faces, including, but not limited to, Richard "Oscar Goldman" Anderson, Don Harvey ("Die Hard 2"), Elliott Gould ("The Long Goodbye"), Bernie Casey ("I'm Gonna Git You Sucka"), Wanda De Jesus ("Blood Work"), Victoria Dillard ("Ali"), Michael Ironside ("Starship Troopers"), Sy Richardson ("Straight to Hell"), and M. Emmet Walsh ("Blood Simple"). Casey is a standout as a savvy defense attorney.

Scripted and directed by Charles Burnett, whose other pictures include "Killer of Sheep" and "To Sleep with Anger", this made for a compelling tale indeed.

Seven out of 10.

Being that I was only thirteen when this film came out, I vaguely remember the promos for THE GLASS SHIELD. As usual, the Hollywood establishment misrepresented this film during its release and I fear no one saw it, and those who expected 1) Ice Cube to have a huge role or 2) Lori Petty to get naked were severely disappointed. (I think this came out very close to CLOCKERS, too, which might have confused some people.)

I've been hearing a lot of underground talk about Charles Burnett, lately, so I picked up this film (thinking it was a usual cop-meets-gangsta film previous to my knowledge that Burnett directed it.) I must say that it is an excellent, incisive picture that manages to duck every convention one expects from Hollywood. I was reminded of IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT, but this was without the Mr. Tibbs-like over-the-top innocent; JJ (an excellent Michael Boatman) is truly a real character, with real guilt and real problems. Ice Cube plays his role well, and Lori Petty is good, but it is the creepy fraternity of mustachioed white cops that makes this film truly frightening. They are bad, but not outright evil; they are, instead, men too pumped up on the power of the badge and the sidearm and the encouragement of their peers.

This is a riveting film with less than two "action" scenes; the tension exists instead in the idea that terrible violence awaits every character at every turn, and when the higher-ups descend to the levels of insane criminals, we realize the significance of the title, and the vulnerability of peace.

Highly recommended.