The Badge (2002)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

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:

For what it's worth, Mona's dead body on the morgue table is a woman's, not a man's. The crests of the iliac, the hip bone, are pronounced, as they are in a woman's pelvic girdle. What this means is that the body was born female and couldn't have been a genotypic male with added breasts, which is the explanation offered by the M.E.

Average Thriller

This is a pretty well-acted movie about a murder, and the investigation into that murder. However, as far as thrills and suspense goes, this film fell below my expectations.

Small town sheriff (Billy Bob Thornton) is called to investigate the murder of a transsexual. A good part of the movie seems to be about him putting his prejudices aside, so the film appeared more dramatic than thrilling. Patricia Arquette and William Devane also star. Devane gives a compelling performance as a Southern political power broker, and Arquette is just as feminine and callipygian as usual. Thomas Hayden Church (Sideways) also gives a supporting role as the gay brother.

There were some noticeable gaps and glitches during some action scenes in this movie, which was a bit distracting. The drunk father scenes also seemed to not have much meaning.By and large, a passable, somewhat entertaining, if not enthralling movie to watch. This movie could have been a bit more "deep" and atmospheric, but it failed to give a strong sense of place. Without that, and without driving suspense, you basically have a drama, with the main character (Thornton) getting in and out of his car the whole movie.

Oh, and the music soundtrack was a bit too "cool" for the movie. For example, can you think of why Middle Eastern "wailing woman" music was used for a pic about Southern police corruption? It seems the "wailing woman" music is used a lot these days, but it definitely does not belong in this flick.

6 points