Rampart (Owen Moverman, Millennium Entertainment, 2011)

I often tell the story describing how one of my favorite television shows EVER had me completely hooked in its very first episode. THE SHIELD (Shawn Ryan) was a fantastic show, gritty and realistic, and it debuted right after the Rampart Scandal had rocked the LAPD. At the very end of the first episode, after taking great time to establish Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) and his team as well as the simmering corruption suspicions about Mackey by Captain Aceveda (Benito Martinez); on a drug raid Mackey shoots a team member. I knew right then and there this show was going to go to levels never before thought of for the crime/police genres and THE SHIELD never disappointed me in seven great seasons. Unfortunately not the same can be said for the film RAMPART (Oren Moverman, Millennium Entertainment, 2011). The film borrows heavily from the style THE SHIELD made its distinctive own. A protagonist cop falling apart at the seams professionally, at home and emotionally, extensive use of location shooting near the Rampart area and an abundance of handheld camera work helping to create authenticity. But unlike it's predecessor, the film carries no weight, it's narrative is lost and rudderless and other than a good performance by Woody Harrelson it is not a very memorable film. Let me start with the films narrative. Great hope abounded as James Ellroy was one of the authors of the script. I can only assume their was too much conflict in direction between Ellroy and Moverman (other co-author) as the narrative is convoluted at best, as the audience gets lost in a myriad of plots and sub-plots. Hard to follow, the narrative is also bloated and misleading and with its ending I believe to be incomplete. There simply is too many unexplained things going on and really no resolution to the film whatsoever. There is a line in the film where the retired cop Hartshom (Ned Beatty) tells Dave Brown (Harrelson) "this ain't your fathers LAPD". Really? Well guess what, RAMPART isn't your fathers L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (Curtis Hanson, Warner Bros., 1997). These shortcomings to the narrative aside I do feel that two excellent things stand out in regards to the film. The first would be the performance by Harrelson as Dave Brown. Brown is a man devolving, unraveling right in front of our eyes. He is losing his career, his family, his life and is powerless to stop the descent. Even when he comes clean to Kyle (Ice Cube) there is no salvation for this man. And Harrelson hits every nuance and note for the character. There is a barely caged emotion lying underneath the surface in this portrayal, a ferocity yearning to explode. Yet Harrelson sublimely keeps it smoldering at the edges. The other aspect of this film I particularly enjoyed was its cinematography. Now I may be in a minority with this opinion but the camera placement and lighting to this film were outstanding (I say this because my friend and viewing partner hated it). Completely unique, it de-centered the action and it's protagonist, furthering the splintering going on in the life of Dave Brown. The lighting was harsh and unflattering helping to paint a realistic mise en scene. The combination of both allowed its audience to be an inconspicuous part of the film, there amongst the muck and mire. The cinematographer to the film, Bobby Bukowski, really outdid himself with this work. I came away very impressed. Which is more than I can say for the film as a whole. Watch it because you should watch everything, because of Woody and the cinematography. Don't watch it if you expect to be blown away like Vic Mackey brushing an informant off his shoulder.