Brooklyn’s Finest
Ethan Hawke is riveting and utterly believable, bringing a searing intensity to the screen.
Training Day director Antoine Fuqua remains on familiar territory for this violent and gritty drama. Brooklyn's Finest follows three very different cops in New York's police force, with fate leading them to a terrible showdown. All crime drama staples are present and correct, but never feel tired, having a desperately raw edge. For example, Richard Gere is the officer who falls for his favourite prostitute, but the harsh reality of being one in a long line feels far from his Pretty Woman days.
Gere's actually the weakest turn in this fantastic ensemble, which still makes his performance very good indeed. He never quite looks like a rogue officer who has reached the end of a rough 22 years of service, but his final week guiding rookie cops in rough neighbourhoods leads to some of the most tense moments.
Then we have Don Cheadle as undercover detective Tango, the right-hand man to powerful gangster Cal (Wesley Snipes). A hugely empathetic and decent man, a sharp mind and genuine affection for his drug baron boss keeps everyone fooled. The respect gained from Tango's gang is at stark contrast to the belittling from his force, with Ellen Barkin unfortunately over-cooking her role as his morally-bankrupt chief.
However, it's Fuqua's favourite leading man who is the heart and soul of this drama. As drug squad detective and family man Sal Procida, Ethan Hawke proves he has become one of the most extraordinary actors of his generation. As a devout Catholic, he bottles a lifetime of frustration and sorrow at being unable to provide for his large family, battling with the moral dilemma of pocketing confiscated drug money to pay for a habitable home for his asthmatic wife. Hawke is riveting and utterly believable, bringing a searing intensity to the screen.
Fuqua weaves a fairly uncomplicated story, more a sequence of dramatic events, relying on his tremendous cast to raise the tension. Physically sweaty and grimy, the police stations are as downtrodden as the drug dens, and it's a fascinating world to be immersed in for two hours. You've seen it many times before, but Hawke, Cheadle and Gere personally raise the bar for crime thrillers.
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