"Cops" is an Austrian German-language movie from 2018 that was written and directed by Stefan Lukacs, his first filmmaking effort when it comes to full feature theatrical releases in fact and taking that into account, the outcomes is decent. But by general standards, I was not too impressed I must say. I usually like Austrian films, especially if there is a bit of dark comedy included, which here is not, it is really 100% drama and character study, which may be one of the reasons why I do not approve this much. But that would be just me obviously. Also in many modern Austrian films these days, you see more from the side of the criminals than the law (even if the law is not entirely uncriminal here) and here the focus is really on the police force. So more order than law if you wantg to say it like that. Anyway, I am a bit surprised how much awards recognition this film got. Lead actor Rupp and key supporting actor Noori won Austrian Film Awards for their portrayals, but I would somewhat say nominations would have been sufficient if at all. They are okay, but it is really the story and script that shines in the better moments. I do like Maria Hofstätter. A lot actually, but honestly her screen time here is just so minimal that it is a bit ridiculous she also got nominated. And yeah i am saying this as a fan of her. Another problem I have here is that the film comes nowhere close to working in a way that it actually could have from the character study perspective. It also does not feel entirely realistic and just dramatic for the sake of it in the more showy moments, most of all of course the one that involves the two central character (the award winners) in a scene that has a gun to both their heads. Sure shooting somebody makes something with you and may change everything, but the way Lukacs lead us there was just not convincing and appropriate enough for me to believe this developments really feels authentic. It sure was a big challenge, but I would not say really he succeeded. Instead I preferred the relationship moments and how that fateful day had such a big impact on life from the perspective of his loves ones too. This was handled with good attention to detail, also the more subtle moments. I think the alpha male, masculine component when it comes to police life in general was also included nicely and felt realistic. As for the ending, the strong contrast between taking a life and saving a life that may get his life on course eventually again was a good idea, but again the execution was not on a level I would have hoped it could be to really feel touching and significant, even if they tried so hard to make it this way. It did feel a bit for the sake of a forced happy ending honestly. Also maybe a bit too much drama that happens to him realistically within such a short period of time. There are good moments in this movie no doubt about it, but honestly these are not enough in terms of both quantity and quality for a film that runs for approximately 1.5 hours. The film just struggles with realism too many times and that is especially a problem here because this is the one area where they really try so hard to deliver. Another example where that applies would be the inside police investigation work that just goes back and forth like a ping pong ball and I don't think this is how things would have been handled overall (not even close) in real life. All in all, I give this movie a thumbs-down. Not recommended. I hope Lukas can improve with future works. He is still pretty young and it is a tolerable rookie effort, but nothing more really, certainly a bit on the overrated site. Must not have been the best year for Austrian movies then.
Review of Cops
