Brooklyn’s Finest
A sprawling ensemble piece, Brooklyn’s Finest follows three New York cops who all work within the same precinct.

A sprawling ensemble piece from director and writer Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Replacement Killers), Brooklyn’s Finest follows three New York cops who all work within the same precinct. They police some of the toughest NYC neighbourhoods, including the notorious Brooklyn Projects (‘projects’ being the US equivalent of our council estates).

Don Cheadle plays Tango, who works deep undercover as a gang member and drug dealer. So deep and long has he been undercover (including nine months in prison), that he finds his loyalties increasingly torn between his employers and the gang members whom he has grown close to and who have – literally – saved his life. Ethan Hawke is Sal, a narcotics officer who is struggling to provide for his wife and five children. When the devout catholic discovers that his wife is pregnant once again, he finds himself resorting to desperate and illegal measures for extra financial support. Finally, there’s Richard Gere as Eddie, who after 20 undistinguished years on the force, is seven days away from retirement. Amongst his final duties, this borderline alcoholic is asked to train some new recruits – can he bring his police career to a close by doing something positive, or will his cynicism and pessimism sour even this final task?

In Brooklyn’s Finest, Fuqua is clearly aiming to make the leap from accomplished director into the league of Scorsese and Coppola. It’s clearly aiming for ‘epic’ and ‘classic’ status. There are no depths which will not be plumbed to bring an authentic earthiness and grittiness to this post-The Wire tale of hardened gangsters and the corrupt, disillusioned law-enforcement officers who pursue them. In its favour, it boasts strong performances from each of its three leads, with Ethan Hawke, in particular, demonstrating himself to be a sorely under-used dramatic talent. Further solid support comes from Ellen Birkin, Wesley Snipes and Brian F.O’Byrne (as Hawke’s closest police buddy). On the downside, it’s a challenging and bleak portrait that won’t fail to depress; no doubt realistic but hard going for any audience – even those who appreciate the dirtiest of dirty-cop dramas. Also, as the three plotlines unfold, you can’t help but anticipate when they will converge… so it proves somewhat disappointing to find that they don’t. There is no point when these three dramas unite, which leaves a disappointing aftertaste long after the final and inevitable gunfire has faded. It’s a convoluted and flawed piece of work that can never quite match its maker’s ambitions.

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