Three Stressed Policeman Stories En Route to a Bloodbath: DVD of "Brooklyn's Finest" (2009)

Often DVD bonus features convince me that the movie was better than I thought. Because "Brooklyn's Finest" (2009) runs 132 minutes, I did not have enough time to watch it first and watched the bonus feature interviews. They did not contain spoilers and made clear the intents of first-time writer Michael C. Martin (who was an MTA toll collector before his screenplay finished second in a competition), director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day), and the four lead actors. In addition to having Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, and Ethan Hawke as policemen at the ends of their tethers (and beyond) and Wesley Snipes and Michael K. Williams (The Wire) as gangastas, there are cameos by Ellen Barkin, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Lili Taylor.

In the manner of the "Three Colors Trilogy," neither Gere nor Hawke is in the same frame with Cheadle and Snipes more than very briefly. Gere, Hawke, and Cheadle all play Brooklyn policemen, but each in his own story. In intercutting distinct stories, "Brooklyn's Finest" is reminiscent of "The Wire,' and compared to it, 132 minutes is short!. They are similarly urban, gritty, and profane. "Brooklyn's Finest" has more (female) nudity, but otherwise looks quite like an HBO melodrama shot on location.

None of the three stories or those of subsidiary characters is original. Richard Gere's Eddie as a beat cop a week away from his retirement and pension, trying to teach a hotheaded newcomer (actually, two, neither as flamboyant as Sean Penn) to let some things pass brings Robert Duvall in Dennis Hopper-directed "Colors" to mind, though Gere is less folksy. (Add a large dollop of "Pretty Woman" from Gere's resumé.) Cheadle's Tango is under deep cover, with loyalties confused in relation to a drug lord who saved his life (Snipes) is reprising a storyline from the "Infernal Affairs" trilogy, Americanized as "The Departed," and other tales of undercover operatives. And Snipes has been a drug lord before (New Jack City).

As a father of three (or more) whose wife Angela (Lili Taylor in harried but sweet mode) is pregnant with twins and whose asthma is worsened by mold in the walls of their house... which means desperate to move, narcotics detective Sal (Hawke) becomes a cop appropriated drug money for himself. In confession, he wishes for God's protection rather than forgiveness. Throughout the movie, he agonizes about crossing the line, which puzzles me in that he commits first-degree murder in the first scene. He is not just a "dirty cop," but also a murderer (I won't specify how many times). Not as cynical as either "Bad Lieutenant" and not addicted to drugs, and more distraught, but it's for the family, you know?

In addition to the interview-centered bonus features, there are a lot of deleted scenes (about half an hour in total), a trailer, and trailers for four other movies, none of which made me want to see the movies. "Boyz 'n the Real Hood," which is about shooting on location in dicey Brownsville, Brooklyn locations, is especially interesting.

The locations and cast are outstanding, the juxtaposition of stories is well done. Ethan Hawke is very different here than in "Training Day," suppressing his usual charm and occasional innocence. I think that Martin meant his character to be more sympathetic than I found it. Gere is very good at burned-out yet a defender of the weak. Is Cheadle ever not good? Snipes has been not good in recent years, but has two moments of great screen acting (with the face, not with dialogue or movement) herein.