Bad Boys, Bad Boys
Cop Land Explores Dichotomy of Law Enforcement

As a long-time fan of both Robert DeNiro and Harvey Keitel, I had been looking forward to the release of Cop Land with more than a little anticipation. Even the early speculation about Sylvester Stallone in the starring role did little to dissuade me. My faith was not in vain. The entire story, along with some phenomenal performances, makes Cop Land a must see movie.

Stallone plays Sheriff Freddie Heflin, a Jersey boy who dreamed of one day joining the NYPD. He never made it to New York, however, because a rescue attempt in his youth left him deaf in one ear. As a result, he settled for being sheriff of Garrison, New Jersey, a bedroom community to many New York police officers.

When young police officer Murray Babitch (played by Michael Rapaport, Beautiful Girls) drives home half-drunk from a bachelor party, he finds trouble as two black men sideswipe his car. When he believes one of them has pulled a gun, he fires several shots into the car, bringing them to a stop on the George Washington Bridge.

The police fail to find a gun, however, and Babitch's uncle Ray Donlan (Keitel) attempts to plant evidence to save his nephew from investigation. One of the paramedics on the scene begins to cause problems, forcing Ray to come up with a second plan. Faking his nephew's death, he begins screaming that Babitch has jumped off the GWB.

To the media, Babitch becomes a hero who committed suicide when faced with the possibility of being railroaded through an investigation. The NYPD Internal Affairs suspects that Babitch is still alive and want to find him as part of an ongoing investigation into suspected mob ties to the cops in Garrison, NJ.

When the head of Internal Affairs (DeNiro) goes to Garrison, he pleads with Sheriff Heflin to cooperate. Heflin idolizes the cops in his town, however, and refuses to turn on them even though he has seen Babitch alive. Soon the tables turn, and Heflin begins to rethink his loyalties to the officers in the town, and his own naive hero-worship.

Cop Land is filled with outstanding performances, not just from the principal actors, but also from the supporting cast. Anabella Sciorra (The Night We Never Met) plays the shy, abused wife of one of the police officers. She also provides a romantic interest for Heflin who saved her from drowning. Comic Janeane Garofalo plays one of Heflin's deputies, a smart newcomer to Garrison who doesn't yet realize the NYPD are the true law in the town. Ray Liotta plays a coke-addicted cop who befriends Haflin when it becomes evident that he is no longer in Donlan's good graces.

My only criticism of Cop Land stems from its numerous interesting characters which are not given ample screen time. I would have enjoyed knowing these characters more in depth. Even worse, the movie clocks at only an hour and forty-five minutes. Had the movie devoted more time to some of the subplots, it would have been longer, but not horribly so. This is a movie which should have been two and half to three hours long.

MY RATING: 9 out of 10.

RATED: R
RUN TIME: 105 min.