The Glass Shield

The Glass Shield (1994) is a movie that I recently watched on Prime. The storyline follows a black police officer on the force who is trying his best to fit in to the culture of the department. He witnesses an arrest that he knows is wrong; but to fit in, he bites his tongue and lets it go to trial. Once faced with the task of testifying, he will need to decide what's more important - the truth or his job.

This movie is written and directed by Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep) and stars Michael Boatman (Hamburger Hill), Lori Petty (Tank Girl), Ice Cube (Boyz n the Hood), Michael Ironside (Total Recall) and Erich Anderson (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter).

The storyline is well written, and the circumstances are a challenge to this very day and the cast is pretty good in name...but Ice Cube is the only performance that is well executed. Lori Petty delivers a strong supporting character also, but the villains were a bit cliche, even if their characteristics are a challenge within our society. Michael Boatman's mannerisms, facial expressions and overall delivery of the main character left a lot to be desired. The dialogue is very well written, as is the court drama, and the ending is worthwhile.

Overall, this is a movie with a solid premise but inconsistent execution. I would score this a 6/10 but strongly recommend it.

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.

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.

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).

I was hesitating between giving 8 or 9 and decided for a 9 when I thought "It was so difficult watching this film - it really showed well how frustrating some things can be in Life; I'm exhausted".

And that in itself sums up this film : it does not have the top notch direction of Crash which won the 2006 Oscars, but, just like Crash, I was on the edge of my seat till the very very end of the film. I was punching the wall out of feeling as frustrated as some of the characters, I was tense and worried that someone was going to get shot, I was a total ball of nerves by the end. And for that alone I went for a 9 rather than an 8 : this film is 10 out of 10 in terms of drawing the viewer into the frustrations of police corruption, racism, sexism, cover-ups, minor mistakes which come back to haunt you big time, the effect on communities, fate. It is not a traditional Police film, it is a hundred times more than that.

If you liked Crash 2006 (the one which won the Oscars), then you'll like this film. Guarantee.