Broken City (2013)

In a city rife with injustice, ex-cop Billy Taggart seeks redemption and revenge after being double-crossed and then framed by its most powerful figure: Mayor Nicholas Hostetler.

Director:

Allen Hughes

Writer:

Brian Tucker

Stars:

Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Wahlberg	...	Billy Taggart
Russell Crowe	...	Mayor Hostetler
Catherine Zeta-Jones	...	Cathleen Hostetler
Jeffrey Wright	...	Carl Fairbanks
Barry Pepper	...	Jack Valliant
Alona Tal	...	Katy Bradshaw
Natalie Martinez	...	Natalie Barrow
Michael Beach	...	Tony Jansen
Kyle Chandler	...	Paul Andrews
James Ransone	...	Todd Lancaster
Griffin Dunne	...	Sam Lancaster
Odessa Sykes	...	Secretary - Hostetler
Britney Theriot	...	Valerie
Luis Tolentino	...	Mikey Tavarez
Tony Bentley	...	Judge

Storyline

In New York City, detective Billy Taggart goes to court for the murder of the rapist Mikey Tavarez, but the Mayor Nicholas Hostetler and the Chief of Police Carl Fairbanks vanish with important evidence and Billy is declared not guilty by the judge; however, he leaves the police department. Seven years later, Billy is a private detective and lives with his girlfriend Natalie Barrow, who is an aspiring actress and the sister of Mikey's victim. His secretary Katy Bradshaw (Alona Tal) is trying to collect part of the debts to save their business. In the week of the elections, Hostetler summons Billy and offers $50,000 to investigate his wife, Cathleen Hostetler, whom he believes is having a love affair. Billy discovers that Cathleen is meeting Paul Andrews, who is the coordinator of the campaign of Jack Valliant, the opponent of Hostetler and favorite in the election. When Paul is found dead on the street, Billy finds that he had been double-crossed by Hostetler and he decides to ...

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Plot Keywords:

murder | mayor | actress | private detective | new york city | 

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Taglines:

Proof Can Be a Powerful Weapon.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

14A

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

18 January 2013 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Emprise sur la ville

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$8,268,908 (USA) (18 January 2013)

Gross:

$19,692,608 (USA) (29 March 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Emmett/Furla Films, Inferno International, Regency Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Billy is getting into Katy's car he asks her, "Where did you get these seat covers, the Gaza Strip?". Katy is played by Alona Tal who was born in Israel and served in the Israeli Defense Forces.

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Goofs

Exterior and interior shots show that Paul Andrews is inside Grand Central Terminal. He purchases a ticket to go to Montauk, however, there are no trains presently going from Grand Central to Montauk. Andrews then boards what is clearly a Long Island Rail Road train (a sign is outside), which does service Montauk. But then Andrews would be boarding at Penn Station, not boarding an outside station that appears to be on Long Island.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Prosecutor: Your Honor, it's murder. Even when the police do it.

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Connections

References American Idol: The Search for a Superstar (2002)

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Soundtracks

Music
Written by Frank Gaye, Marvin Gaye, Nona Gaye and Erick Sermon
Performed by Erick Sermon featuring Marvin Gaye

User Reviews

Great Cast Keeps Weak Story Going

Broken City (2013)

*** (out of 4)

Entertaining but very flawed political thriller about a private eye (Mark Wahlberg) who was thrown off the NYC police force but gets a major job when the Mayor (Russell Crowe) asks him to find out who his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is messing around with. This case is rather easy for the man but soon he realizes that this is just the start of dirty business. BROKEN CITY, as a thriller, really doesn't work because the plot is rather silly. It's especially silly if you start to think about it too long and that's why it's best to just walk into the theater, turn your brain off and enjoy the excellent cast that's offered up here. It's always amazing to see how many great actors they can get for less-than-stellar material but the three leads are excellent as are Jeffrey Wright, Barry Pepper and Alona Tal. The performances are certainly the reason to check this film out as they help keep the film moving along no matter how many twists and turns get thrown at us. Wahlberg is once again a lot of fun playing the tough guy and has no problem with this. Crowe appears to be having fun with the less than serious role and Zeta-Jones gets a couple nice scenes along the way. I thought Pepper is the one who really stood out playing the man going up against Crowe's character in the upcoming election. Tal was also a breathe of fresh air when she's on screen. An almost unrecognizable Griffin Dunne also plays a supporting part. Director Allen Hughes does a nice job at keeping the film moving at a nice pace but there's still no question that the material just isn't all that strong. I'm not sure if there were countless re-writes or not but the screenplay pretty much hits on every cliché that this lower-quality political thrillers do. The twists and turns aren't all that shocking and neither is the ending. Still, BROKEN CITY remains enjoyable thanks to the cast.