Rampart (2011)

Rampart (R) - Review

"Hungry for action"

Woody Harrelson is a primordial bad cop Dave Brown in this 2011 film cowritten by novelist James Ellroy (writer of L.A. Confidential).  A man with serious confusions in his homelife and appetite, Brown becomes embroiled in the infamous LA Rampart scandals over corruption and racism in the Los Angeles police department.  Brown can be a loving human and doting father, but a fascist pig out on the streets.  When he is video taped beating severely beating a suspect and shortly thereafter being involved in a work related shooting, Brown's life/career and sanity begin to tatter at an alarming pace.  Everyone is out to save their own hides, and the Assistant DA (Sigourney Weaver) would happily bury as many Browns it would take to settle the media and its constituents down.   Ellroy can pine too often for the bad old days and  our sympathies rarely lie with his while the production squeezes a few visually striking scenes.  But Officer Brown makes or breaks the film and Woody plays Dave like a caveman on a hunger strike, a bull in a cement shop.  A man who has overstayed his centuries welcome, lost between the grey areas and the thin blue lines.

5.5 Non-Existant Bear Claws out of 10 (MEDIOCRE)