Rampart

First there was Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant (1992). Then there was Werner Herzog’s The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009). Now there is Oren Moverman’s Rampart.  The shenananigans of the L.A.P.D., indeed of the cop precinct in general, have long been a favourite topic of American film-makers as it provides plenty of opportunity for displays of violence, fast driving, sex, corruption and generally godless behaviour. Moverman's film makes the most of the opportunities.

Woody Harrelson  plays Dave Brown, a patrol car cop with two ex-wives (Anne Heche, Cynthia Nixon), and two daughters. Beholden to the old school philosophy of “spare the rod and spoil the child” he’s got no problem with kicking the asses of the low lives who populate his watch. But when he’s caught on videotape beating a suspect, à la Rodney King, whilst still under investigation for shooting and killing a serial rapist, his bosses have had enough. So too have his ex’s and his life starts coming apart at the seams.

Although based on a real-life scandal in the L.A.P.D.'s  Rampart Division in the 1990’s, Moverman with noted crime writer James Ellory as co-writer sticks to the familiar elements of the precinct movie sub-genre. There’s a tough-talking female boss (Sigourney Weaver), a crusading Internal Affairs investigator (Ice Cube), a dirty ex-cop (Ned Beatty), a bar pick-up (Robin Wright, who seems inordinately fond of playing sexy roles) and so on.

But so familiar are these elements that Moverman pays little attention to plot and concentrates more on style. And stylish the film is, although at the end of it all, there’s really nothing to distinguish his from the pack.  THe only exception is Harrelson’s intense performance which was at one stage deemed a contender for an Oscar although as it turned out it never made it to the nominations.

DVD Extras: The Making of Rampart; Theatrical trailer

Available from: Madman

 

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