Pride and Glory (Warner Brothers)
Not A Lot Of Glory Here
Edward Norton and Colin Farrell co-star in the new police drama Pride and Glory. This is a violent film about police corruption that holds your interest but is actually pretty run of the mill. If anything elevates it, it is the acting talent on display.
Francis Tierney, Sr. (Jon Voight) has a prominent position with the New York Police Force. His two sons Francis, Jr. (Noah Emmerich) and Ray (Norton) are also policemen as is their brother in law Jimmy (Farrell). At the opening of the movie there is a gun battle with some thugs that ends up with four policemen dead. An investigation is launched with Ray at the head of it. What he discovers is a trail of police corruption.
As he follows these trails they lead to a possible involvement of both Francis, Jr and Jimmy. Finally Ray has to decide between family loyalty and doing the right thing. It is not an easy decision for him to make.
The acting in the movie is top notch. Norton is solid in his role but is overshone by Farrell, who nails his role as the possibly corrupt Jimmy. Emmerich has some good scenes as Frannie but Voight is even better as his father. Voight is that rare actor who just cant give a bad performance. As he gets older he just gets better.
Another outstanding performance in this movie is delivered by Jennifer Ehle who plays Frannies dying wife Abby. She is fragile and frail and her performance has a poignancy that breaks your heart. Ehle is the daughter of legendary Broadway actress Rosemary Harris and seems to have inherited her talent.
The film is rated R for profanity and extreme violence. There is a scene where a policeman threatens to torture a baby that is over the top.
The movie does have a few twists at the end that are surprising but nothing makes it better than an average movie except the acting. It is that which will get the film the little bit of attention it garners.
Norton, Farrell and Emmerich are not names that draw people to theaters. Their films have to have favorable word of mouth. This one will get a little of that but not enough to make it a box office smash hit.
I scored Pride and Glory a policed 6 out of 10.
