Who could possibly play a Bogart role today? Harrison Ford, perhaps, as he has that persona of grave manliness. Certainly, however, Sylvester Stallone would be about the last choice to play a role with such moral ambiguity, one that relies on that character's mental processes. After a long series of big-budget bombs, however, Stallone needed to take his career in a new direction, and silly comedies ala Arnold Schwarzenegger was not the way to go for him.
Remember David Letterman's joke about Stallone (echoing Stallone's line from Cobra), "Stallone is a disease, acting lessons are the cure"? Consider the patient cured.
After so many movies where he played a one-note tough guy with embarassing attempts as "character development" as in the later Rocky films and the abominable Over the Top, it is a shock to see him play a character who is aware of his own shortcomings but tries to get along despite them. Stallone's character, Freddy Heflin, the sheriff of "cop town" Garrison, New Jersey, is a sort of benign lump with nothing to do. He plays ball with the police who make up the population of his hometown, and is treated partly as a comrade, partly condescendingly. He gets little satisfaction from his job, and lives off the one act of true heroism of his life, saving a girl from drowning when he was still a young man.
Many of the cops of Garrison are shady characters. The NYPD's Internal Affairs people are after them, but IA officer Moe Tilden (Robert DeNiro) keeps getting called off the investigation. Meanwhile, a young "superboy" cop (Michael Rapaport) is involved in a shooting in which he wasn't necessarily guilty, but which will have far-reaching racial repercussions. So, his uncle Ray (Harvey Keitel) does his best to make him disappear.
The plot is extraordinarily complicated. One rogue cop (Ray Liotta) who breaks with the corrupt Ray, loses his house and girlfriend to fire. Another (Peter Berg) suffers an unfortunate accident. Eventually, Freddy puts together what remains of his self-respect and takes a stand against the dirty cops in a cathartic burst of violence.
While the plot and auxiliary performances are enjoyable (particularly those of Liotta, Keitel, Rapaport, and Robert Patrick), the principal reason to see Cop Land is for Stallone's performance. One scene has Stallone with Annabella Sciorra, who plays the woman he saved from drowning. Stallone here shows incredible sensitivity--a man who lost his ability to act with manhood and decision, and who mourns his lost past.
One can imagine some other actors who could have successfully played the role of Heflin: Liotta, DeNiro, James Caan, Harrison Ford, Joe Mantegna. Yet Stallone was the one who had to do it. As a result, the finest performance of his career, and the best performance of the year to date.
James Mangold's script and direction contain references to Chinatown and It's a Wonderful Life: he is aiming for status as a classic with this feature, and he just might have it. Only time will tell. The only complaints I can make: occasionally the violence and profanity (both very strong here) seem a bit gratuitous, particularly at the ending. The music of Howard Shore should be noted for its mournful, dark quality. It enhances the tone of the film better than any film score so far this year.
Who can say if Stallone can duplicate this success elsewhere, but next February, I trust that he will finally have his second acting Oscar nomination.
Three and a half stars
Copyright 1997 by Dale G. Abersold
