The trailer and ads for this film may make you think that this is just another cop film with Robert DeNiro but the truth is that its a lot more. This story is loosely based on fact and it seems a natural to be made into a film. Story starts out with an 18 year old boy named Joey (James Franco) who is a drug addict and during an altercation with a pusher Joey stabs him and kills him. The next day Detective Vincent LaMarca (Robert DeNiro) and his partner Reg (George Dzundza) investigate the killing and later find out that Vincent's son Joey is responsible. Vincent is divorced from Maggie (Patti Lupone) and has not seen his son for 14 years. Vincent lives in an apartment and he is casually dating Michelle (Frances McDormand) who lives upstairs from him. Meanwhile, a drug supplier called Spyder (William Forsythe) is looking for Joey because he thinks he has his 4000 dollars which he doesn't. Once it is known that Vincents son is involved he is taken off the case and Reg is put in charge of the investigation.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Reg goes to an old building on Long Beach, Long Island where Joey is known to hang out but Reg surprises Spyder and gets shot and killed. Now the police think Joey killed him and Vincent has a lot to think about. Vincent's own father was executed in 1959 for killing a child and now his own son is involved in a terrible crime. Vincent meets Joey's girlfriend Gina (Eliza Dushku) and finds out that he is a grandfather and now he must make sure that his own grandson doesn't follow the same fate. This film was directed by Michael Caton-Jones and its the second film that he and DeNiro have worked on together and the first was "This Boy's Life". What separates this from other cop films is a very strong performance by DeNiro. He has been criticized in the past for giving uninspired performances but thats not the case here. DeNiro had to do some real digging to deliver a character that is haunted by his past and now doesn't have a choice but to confront it and try to make amends. At the beginning we see Vincent as a cop who always says that those responsible must pay. Then later in the film he hands in his gun and badge which were two things he could hide behind when dealing with personal issues. After that he is free to confront everything that he has dodged for years. DeNiro shows real layers to his character and as the film unfolds these layers are slowly peeled back exposing himself as more than just a tough cop. I wasn't as excited by Franco's performance although they're are a few moments when confronting his father where he shows some real angst in his eyes. But for the most part his role comes across as James Dean in "Rebel Without A Cause". Its hard to believe that its been 25 years since DeNiro and Dzundza were in "The Deer Hunter" together and this is the first time since than that they have worked together. Film is definitely more interesting than I expected and DeNiro's performance is exceptional.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Reg goes to an old building on Long Beach, Long Island where Joey is known to hang out but Reg surprises Spyder and gets shot and killed. Now the police think Joey killed him and Vincent has a lot to think about. Vincent's own father was executed in 1959 for killing a child and now his own son is involved in a terrible crime. Vincent meets Joey's girlfriend Gina (Eliza Dushku) and finds out that he is a grandfather and now he must make sure that his own grandson doesn't follow the same fate. This film was directed by Michael Caton-Jones and its the second film that he and DeNiro have worked on together and the first was "This Boy's Life". What separates this from other cop films is a very strong performance by DeNiro. He has been criticized in the past for giving uninspired performances but thats not the case here. DeNiro had to do some real digging to deliver a character that is haunted by his past and now doesn't have a choice but to confront it and try to make amends. At the beginning we see Vincent as a cop who always says that those responsible must pay. Then later in the film he hands in his gun and badge which were two things he could hide behind when dealing with personal issues. After that he is free to confront everything that he has dodged for years. DeNiro shows real layers to his character and as the film unfolds these layers are slowly peeled back exposing himself as more than just a tough cop. I wasn't as excited by Franco's performance although they're are a few moments when confronting his father where he shows some real angst in his eyes. But for the most part his role comes across as James Dean in "Rebel Without A Cause". Its hard to believe that its been 25 years since DeNiro and Dzundza were in "The Deer Hunter" together and this is the first time since than that they have worked together. Film is definitely more interesting than I expected and DeNiro's performance is exceptional.