****
DVD release
Brian and Mike are two cops patrolling
the streets of modern day South Central LA. Good friends and long term
partners, the pair have seen lots of ‘action’ working some of the meanest
crimes of the age. Working in an area with a level of gang crime, Brian and
Mike come up against Mr Big Evil and his gang of Mexican baddies time after
time, becoming eager to take the gang off the streets. After making discoveries
into cases of human trafficking and drug dealing, the duo enter into something
much bigger than either of them can imagine.
Film documentary-style, the
intimacy offered feels fresh and interesting. Brian (Jake Gyllenhaal) is
filming his work routine as part of a course that requires a piece of art and
fixes himself and his partner, Mike (Michael Pena) with clip-on cameras, as
well as a hand-held recorder that the pair speak into regularly. There is also
a camera fitted in their car, which features some of the most engaging scenes
of the film as the pair discuss their lives and the job with openness, as well
as teasing each other playfully as all friends do. The scenes feel improvised
and the banter between Gyllenhaal and Pena feels authentic and creates moment
of genuine humour as well as soul-searching. Only once, at a wedding, does the
connection between the two men seem forced, but the conversation is an
important one that resonates for the duration of the film.
Another of the beauties of the
film comes from the mix of the officer’s off-duty lives with their working
routine. Several times we encounter the pair out of work and at family parties
or weddings, drawing us into their simple yet happy lives, battling the human
woes of love, family and the future. Although Brian and Mike risk their lives
every day on the streets they do not live like heroes, which makes them
instantly accessible as characters. Similarly, there are some scenes set in the
police station, with daily briefings and tom-boy antics that further cement the
characters as real and visceral – it feels as though you could pass these
people on the street tomorrow.
There are moments of tension and
genuine shock, but the film focuses more on the play between the two friends
and the effect the scenes have on them rather than letting the camera focus on
the violence and mutilation. The final show-down is noisy, chaotic and
desperate as Brian and Mike realise what they’ve pitted themselves against. I defy
anyone not to shed a tear at the final scene.
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