Cop Land (1997)

Dir & Written by James Mangold

Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro, Michael Rapaport, Robert Patrick, Janeane Garofolo, Noah Emmerich, Peter Berg, Annabella Sciora, Cathy Moriarty, John Spenser.

In Garrison, New Jersey, many of NYPD’s 37th precinct call home. Sherriff Freddy Heflin, keeps the streets safe of Garrison, wishing he too could be NYPD, but is unable to due to going deaf in one ear saving the life of the now wife of one of the officers in his youth.

One night, while driving home from a party, Murray Babitch (Rapaport) is shot at by some gang members, and returns fire killing them. When his colleagues arrive, they are told by first responders that there was no gun in the gang members car. Fearing for his future, Murray seemingly jumps off the bridge between NY and NJ.

When IA Lieutenant Moe Tilden (DeNiro) arrives on the scene, he askes Freddy for help; he thinks that Murray is still alive, and that Murray’s uncle Ray Donlan (Keitel) is keeping him safe. Will Heflin, who idolizes Donlan find Murray, and bring him in?

Very well made drama, is strenghthened by the cast within it. Each of them play a vital role in the narrative structure of the film. My only criticism is that the cast might be too good, and too congested. With such power players there is only so much room for them to work in a movie with a 2hr runtime. Despite this, the film is well paced.

Stallone has always excelled in dramatic roles having written himself into them for most of his career. His performance as Freddy is more sedated than his audience is used to him being, until the final arc. If any improvements could be made, I wish they made better use of his being deaf in the film prior to the final act – as it is only referenced, and not really seen until this moment.

The setting of the two cities is well done, with sound camera positioning, to show the cities across the river from one another. The fictional town of Garrison is seen to be humble and peaceful. There is some appropriate narrative exposition to explain why NY cops live in NJ early in the film. Non Americans might struggle to comprehend the locations, but as this review is being written in 2024, a simple Google will help.

The directing was well done, with the third act really delivering. The ‘deaf’ walk that Freddy has was well filmed, with the diegetic sound of what he is experiencing done very well. The film itself has a wonderfully solid and dramatic score by Howard Shore.

Very well done, and a recommended watch.

I’ve now added Patreon to my links on my home screen, if you’re able to please check it out, and any members are greatly appreciated.