Shades of grey mark this man in blue
Harrelson brilliant in tale of corrupt cop as low-brow King Lear
We know there are good cops and bad cops, but what about all the cops in between?
Despite the cruiser paint jobs and a hundred years of Hollywood genre, the world of policing is not black and white. Police officers are people — fallible, flawed and probably just a little selfish — because no one is perfect.
Not even Dave Brown. A veteran with more than 20 years on the force, Dave (Woody Harrelson) is the de facto hero in this period copdrama set against the turmoil of a scandal-laden LAPD. The problem is: Dave is deeply troubled.
Despite his heroic dimensions and his macho exterior, Dave can’t seem to get any part of his life together. He has two ex-wives who just happen to be sisters (Cynthia Nixon and Anne Heche). He also has two kids, one by each mother.
For Dave, this is not a problem. He loves his home life and his two exes. He can drink, carouse, go out, boss around his women and be welcomed home like a Mormon elder. He thinks he’s got it all going on, and for a while, Dave really does appear to have life by the gonads.
Harrelson is brilliant as this low-brow King Lear who finds him self in the ash pit of his own ego, and that’s what makes this movie entertaining instead of just plain creepy.
Dave pulls at the strands of male ego, as well as institutional power. At first, we like and respect everything about him because he seems smart, and capable of staying one step ahead of his detractors.
Yet, the longer we hold out hope for Dave’s redemption, the more used we feel.
Rampart is a sophisticated dissection of the American dream with a lurid, drug-using, sex-addicted, brother in blue standing at its centre.