The Badge (2002)

Director:

Robby Henson

Writer:

Robby Henson (written by)

Release Date:

7 September 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

A small town sheriff. A big city murderer.

Plot:

A sheriff (Thornton) begins an investigation into the death of a local transsexual after hearing that high ranking politicians may have been involved...

Plot Keywords:

Transsexual | Crooked Official | New Orleans Louisiana | Gay Interest | Neo Noir

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Billy Bob Thornton	...	Sheriff Darl Hardwick
Patricia Arquette	...	Scarlett
William Devane	...	The Judge
Sela Ward	...	Carla Hardwick
Julie Hagerty	...	Sister Felicia
Marcus Lyle Brown	...	Deputy Jackson
Ray McKinnon	...	Deputy C.B.
Tom Bower	...	Bull Hardwick
Audrey Marie Anderson	...	Teenage Waitress
John McConnell	...	Ornell
J.C. Sealy	...	Rhonda Hebert (as J.C. Seally)
Ron Flagge	...	Gooch
Huey Alexander	...	Cletus
Deana Carter	...	Sherry
Mark Krasnoff	...	Squeegee

Also Known As:

Behind the Badge (USA) (working title)
Behind the Sun (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and sexual content.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Norway:15 | Spain:13 | USA:R | Portugal:M/12 | Iceland:16 | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Emmett/Furla Films

Trivia:

Cindy Ingraham who is listed in the credits as "Additional Props" also has the byline on the newspaper article announcing that Judge Pendergast has resigned in the sex scandal.

Highly enjoyable, solid thriller.

Disregarding what others have said about "The Badge" I went into it because I love Billy Bob and had kept track of it during filming, when the original title had been "Behind the Sun". Seeing that the film went straight to cable really didn't surprise me, espescially seeing as how this isn't really for mainstream audiences, but then again, neither was "Monster's Ball". Anyhow, I'm rambling so let me get to the point here. "The Badge" didn't go to theaters because certain people felt that Billy Bob's character (Darl) was too similar to his character Hank in "Monster's Ball". Whatever the reason, I don't really care. At least I got to see it and I AM thankful for that.

"The Badge" tells the story of a Louisiana Parish Sheriff who normally doesn't appreciate gays, but has to put aside his predjudices and personal beliefs to solve a murder of a transexual. Sound strange? Well, it is and it isn't. That depends on what kind of person you are. Personally, I found the movie to be quite accurate in showing the deep south for what it really is. The politics were espescially accurate and it was pretty brave of Robby Henson to delve into that matter as deep as he did. Obviously, this movie isn't just about politics, but the southern and small-town mentality as well. How do I know? Well, I was raised there, so I have a good understanding of how things work down there.

Another thing: While some of the characters have been called "comic book" or "stereotypes", they're pretty accurate as well. Much like in Sling Blade, I felt like I knew some of these people. I also found the plot turns and acting to be very well executed. As far as that goes, no one gives a bad performance here.

All that said, "The Badge" is definitely worth a look.