Movie Details
| Title: | Rampart | |
| Director: | Oren Moverman | |
| Year: | 2011 | |
| Genre: | Cop | |
| Times Seen: | 1 | |
| Last Seen: | 07.18.12 |
Other Movies Seen By This Director (0)
| Date Viewed | Venue | Note |
| 07.18.12 | Netflix | Woody Harrelson plays a dirty cop in 1999 Rampart division of the LAPD. There was a huge scandal of some sort there at that time that was part of the original inspiration for the tv show The Shield. Harrelson's character is a bit like Vic Mackey except for being in a drug unit he's just a patrol officer. I'm a pretty huge fan of James Ellroy. I don't know what percentage of the final script was his and what was the director's but I found several signature Ellroy elements here. I love how the movie isn't about the Rampart scandal but rather just set there in the background (much like how the riots figure in Dark Blue). I also love how the macguffin of the movie is whether orr not Harrelson's character is being framed. Several of the key incidents are expertly filmed to be completely from Harrelson's point of view so you really aren't sure if he's just being paranoid (which he definitely is) or if there's a plot afoot (which... who knows!?). I also love that Harrelson's character is a complete asshole. It's like a more believable Training Day. Harrelson delivers a great performance... maybe his best since Natural Born Killers and certainly in the same vein as Mickey Knox. The supporting cast is also stellar. Big faces pop up regularly throughout the whole movie, giving me a constant stream of little presents. The only false notes I felt were Robin Wright's character and his kids. They both seemed a little off and foreign, like it's definitely a dude who wrote this. Maybe I just haven't seen that before so it seems offputting to me but Wright's character is kind of a mess to me. Other than that though, great movie. |
