Truth. Honor. Loyalty. Family. What are you willing to sacrifice?
Rating: 6/10
Running Time: 130 minutes
US Certificate: R UK Certificate: 15
On DVD
Pride and Glory asks a lot. Its a decent cops and crimes drama, and once you figure out whos on what side and who works with and for whom, its an intense, well-acted movie that, while nothing really new, offers some memorable moments. The problem is in the getting there, which takes about an hour, and even with a good second hour, its asking a lot to wade through all that dirty cop water that seems to be going nowhere for half the film.
First theres this shoot-out in Washington Heights, and four policemen end up dead in a drug bust gone wrong. Police Chief Francis Tierney, Sr. (Jon Voight) recruits his son, disillusioned cop Ray (Edward Norton), to return to the force and lead the investigation. In the course of the investigation, Ray is forced to question his loyalties when he gets an inkling that there might be some bad cops afootand that they might be guys from his brothers (Noah Emmerich) precinctand that his brother-in-law Jimmy (Colin Farrell) might be the worst offender.
Theres a scene with Farrell, and Ill just say it involves an iron. That scene, more than just about anything Ive watched as of late, got to meand Im a pretty tough movie watcher. This scene takes place midway through and is designed to show us just how far Jimmy has gone down the rabbit hole of corruption. Its a terrific scene. I almost never got there, because I was almost convinced by that point that all I was watching was a by the numbers good cop/bad cop fable that overused the f-word to an almost laughable extent. But I slogged through the messy subplots and the monotonous expository bits, and eventually, there was a solid crime drama. Pacing is the problemall the actors, from leads to small parts, put in great work, especially Voight (though Im not totally convinced that he wasnt actually drunk at the dinner table scene, either way he pulled it off). Nortons good, too, and believable as the cop conscience of the force, and Emmerich stands out as the stoic older brother sitting on the fence (in his best scene, he is confronted by a dirty member of his force who, as explanation, tells him, I thought you knew! From then on, he wears his lack of knowledge with shame, and we see it on his conflicted face). So there it is, a whole bunch of talented actors, some outstanding, gritty scenes full of action and suspense, but such a slow build up that some people may never get there. Have patienceits worth it.
It's Got: Jon Voight, intensity, a really good last hour.
It Needs: A much better first hour, Farrell to get a bit more of a grip on his accent.
DVD Extras One Featurette: Source of Pride: The Making of Pride and Glory (68-minute documentary) DVD Extras Rating: 5/10
Summary
If you can get through the lackluster first hour of this cop family gone wrong saga, youll be rewarded with a well-acted, suspenseful crime thriller.