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"Pride & Glory" doesn't exactly break new ground: It's
a cop movie. It's a movie about family ties. But it's much
better than you'd realized based on those two brief summations
-- and it was highly underrated in its theatrical release
***
You can't really go wrong with a cast like this: Edward
Norton stars as Ray, a loner cop with demons. His family
(all men of the force themselves) are played by Jon Voight
(his father), Noah Emmerich (his brother), and Colin Farrell
(his brother-in-law, who's corrupt, but still a cop). Norton
hasn't really turned into the type of actor his potential
once promised -- in his early roles in "Primal Fear," "American
History X," and "Fight Club" -- but he is solid, dependable,
and can always be counted on to bring his realistic acting
style to any performance. That's certainly true here. Voight,
Emmerich, and Jennifer Ehle (as Emmerich's sick wife) are
also terrific. ***
The real surprise, though, is Farrell. He used to seem
like just another pretty face with a thick accent, but he's
become so much more than that with this and his role in
"In Bruges." He's proven himself to be worthy of the career
that at first seemed somewhat gifted to him. ***
This is the kind of movie that will keep you entertained
from beginning to end, that won't require too much deep
thought but that's smart enough to keep you guessing, and
that -- depending on your preferred genre -- will either
be a throwaway that you don't think about again or will
be something you'll want to add to your collection to watch,
and rewatch. You'll find more nuances in the acting and
storyline. What you'll also start to notice, though, is
some clunky dialogue and meandering storylines. ***
But like any good cop drama -- including those on TV,
by the way -- those flubs are actually part of the charm.
Especially when you have guys like Norton and Farrell selling
it all so well. Who wouldn't buy in? And really, the only
reason this review isn't an out-and-out rave is because
there are just SO many cop stories out there that it's hard
for a film like this one to seem original. But it might
be as close as we get to a fresh take on a cop drama. ---
Image & Sound:
The image and sound are good, though the movie's a little
dark. You might find yourself straining to see at times,
but that would be true even on the big screen. It's just
a dark, dark movie -- in plot and picture. What you can
see is clear, crisp, and gritty (in a good, intentional
way). ***
Dolby 5.1 sound does an excellent job bring the background
noises of a cop's life (streets, restaurants, homes, police
department) up to the point they're noticeable without overwhelming
what's going on front and center. It's near perfect quality
sound. ---
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| Special
Features: |
There's just one featurette, but it's more than an hour
long. So it feels like it's actually something, and much
preferred to many discs that have 20 two-minute featurettes
instead. It's a truly thorough look at the making of the
film. The only complaint I have is that it's not in high-definition.
If they're only going to offer up one feature on a Blu-ray,
it had better be in high-def. There's also the now-standard
(and always boring) digital copy, which doesn't warrant
a mention.
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