At the Movies with Fatwayne

How’s your day going? If you say “pretty good” or perhaps “great” then I have an idea for you. Why not go to see Pride and Glory because only someone who is feeling good should chance spending two hours sitting through this depressing film. On the other hand, if you are not having a good day or if you are feeling depressed, please stay away.

This is a story about cops. The ones that we are exposed to are corrupt and greatly outnumber the good guys. These guys go way beyond corruption and merit descriptions such as sadistic, brutal, without morals and purely out for themselves and their family (read wife and kids).

The plot concerns a family whose father, two sons and a son-in-law are all NYPD officers. When four of their brother officers are killed in an incident that looks suspicious, Ray Tierney (Edward Norton) is drafted to lead a task force to look into the murders. Unfortunately, his investigation leads him back to his family and he must decide what to do. He is torn between his sense of duty and what is right versus his family loyalty.

The principal caracters are the father, Francis, Sr. (Jon Voight) and his sons, Ray and Francis, Jr. (Noah Emmerich). They are joined by brother-in-law, Jimmy Egan (Colin Farrell). This is a very good cast but even their excellent acting can’t save this dismal film.

One further observation, I can understand using vulgar language for emphasis but it is distracting to have just about every male character (and some females) uttering the “F” word every 20 seconds or so. No kidding! Boring!!

Rated R

Fatwayne’s rating: