Rampart

Rampart - Dir. Oren Moverman (2011)

"I am not a racist. The fact is, I hate everyone equally."

Screenwriter Oren Moverman made a strong directorial debut with 2009's The Messenger, a heavy drama with Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster as army officers charged with notifying families that their loved ones were killed in action. In my opinion, it was one of the best films of the year and netted Moverman an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay and Harrelson one for Best Supporting Actor. Moverman and Harrelson have teamed again for Rampart, a gritty drama set during the Rampart scandal of the late-90's.

The LAPD became notorious nationwide for the infamous beating of Rodney King. They again rose to public consciousness following the uncovering of widespread corruption in the anti-gang unit of the Rampart Division. Charges included bribery, falsifying evidence, armed robbery, and drug dealing.

Amidst the chaos, we meet Officer Dave Brown (Harrelson), a former Vietnam vet, who sees the streets of L.A. as his new battleground. Rampart opens in a seemingly conventional manner with Brown berating a female trainee (played by Julian Schnabel's daughter, Stella) for refusing to eat french fries because she is on a diet. But, this is not a retread of Training Day. The rookie isn't seen again and the rest of the film becomes a trip into an urban Dante's Inferno with its protagonist descending deeper and deeper into the pit.

Dave Brown is definitely the bad cop. He has earned the nickname, "Date Rape Dave," because he allegedly murdered a business partner suspected of multiple rape. A former law student, he can cite obscure legal precedent off the top of his head. He failed the BAR exam, but it's obvious it wasn't due to a lack of intelligence. It seems Brown was more interested in cracking heads.

He's also the patriarch of an unconventional little family. Brown has two ex-wives (Anne Heche & Cynthia Nixon), who happen to be sisters and live next door to each other. He has a daughter with each of them and, with the exception of the youngest girl, they all hate his guts. When Brown fails to get in bed with one sister, he moves on to the next one.

Brown ignites another scandal after a hit-and-run collision that sees him chase the suspect and mercilessly beat him with his flashlight. The incident is captured on video and played endlessly on the news. Already under scrutiny, Brown is hammered by investigators from Internal Affairs and the D.A's office. Needing cash to support his family and his legal defense, Brown robs a high stakes poker game and kills an unarmed man, forcing him to cover up yet another crime.

The cast also includes: Steve Buscemi as the District Attorney, Ben Foster as a homeless vet, Brie Larson as Brown's angry teenage daughter, Ned Beatty as a retired cop and confidant, and Sigourney Weaver and Ice Cube as investigators against Brown.

Woody Harrelson really carries the film. Rampart is seen entirely from Dave Brown's perspective and Harrelson appears in every scene. Harrelson isn't afraid to make Brown a nasty and sometimes pathetic individual. Yet, he's charismatic and articulate so it's easy to see why he's able to bed a number of women night in and night out. It's too bad this great character wasn't given a more compelling story.

There's strong storytelling in the first half of Rampart, but the second half of the movie unravels. The narrative drifts into a series of plot threads that never seem fully formed. One subplot that doesn't go anywhere involves an on/off romance between Brown and a defense attorney played by Robin Wright. There's nothing of note here unless you want to hear Wright state that she likes to "suck cock."

Moverman is struck with the sophomore slump that has befallen many independent filmmakers before him. Despite a magnetic performance by Harrelson, Rampart deals with issues, such as police corruption and their effects on the soul and family, that have been seen numerous times in film and television. The script feels like an entire season of The Shield condensed into an hour and forty minutes.

Rating: ** (*****)

The Messenger

The Messenger - Dir. Oren Moverman (2009)


There has been a spate of socially conscious films focusing on the war in the Middle East and the current socio-political climate. Rendition, Stop Loss, Redacted, Lions For Lambs, and Home of the Brave, to name a few. The majority of these films have flopped financially from audiences already inundated with these issues on the news. They’ve flopped critically due to filmmakers shoving their own agendas down the throats of whoever was unfortunate enough to sit through the picture. 2009 saw a pair of relevant films that won critics over and were certainly deserving of wider release. I’m speaking of The Hurt Locker, which has made its way onto dozens of “Best Of” lists and a sure contender for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and The Messenger.

Ben Foster stars as Staff Sgt. Will Montgomery who is sent home after being injured in Iraq. He returns not to a hero’s welcome, but to a sparsely decorated apartment, finding some catharsis listening to loud heavy metal music. His girlfriend, Kelly (Jena Malone), has moved on with her life and plans to wed another man.

With his tour of duty almost up, the Army assigns him to the Casualty Notification Team. Alongside Capt. Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson), a recovering alcoholic who narrowly missed seeing action in Desert Storm, SSgt. Montgomery has the unenviable task of informing family members that their loved one was killed in action. The Notification Team treats their duties the only way they can…with military precision. They are to get in and get out. They refer to the family only as NOKs (Next of Kin) and are not allowed to make physical contact at all. They follow a script that is specific in the language used. Soft terms like “passed away” or “no longer with us” are not to be spoken.

It is an emotionally draining job for SSgt. Montgomery still struggling with the traumatic experience that took him off the battlefield. The team’s heartbreaking news is met with inconsolable sadness or even blind rage. Montgomery and Stone are taken aback when the widowed Olivia Pitterson (Samantha Morton) reacts with surprising stoicism. She manages to hold it together and even shakes their hands, knowing the difficult position they are put in. SSgt. Montgomery disobeys orders and begins spending time with Olivia and her son.

Writer/director Oren Moverman previously co-wrote Todd Haynes’ Bob Dylan-inspired I’m Not There and once served in the Israeli army. The Messenger is his directorial debut and is an assured first effort that heralds the arrival of a filmmaker with plenty of potential. For the notification scenes, Moverman abstained from the rehearsal process and didn’t inform his leads who they would meet or how they would react. He allows the camera to observe unobtrusively. If there is camera movement during these sequences, it’s slight and almost documentary-like.

The acting is strong all around with Ben Foster bringing his usual intensity and Woody Harrelson deftly blending his flair for the comedic and the dramatic. Samantha Morton shines in her role as the newly widowed Olivia. It’s a subtle, low-key performance. She hits all the right notes without resorting to the melodramatic histrionics of the usual Oscar bait performance. Morton has proven to be one of the best actresses of the past decade her roles in Minority Report, In America, Control and even her cartoony portrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots in the bombastic Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

The Messenger isn’t concerned with pushing a pedantic, political agenda for the left or the right. The film is all about the human element which is why it succeeds.

Rating: ***