# Cop Land (1997)

### reviewed by
George Papadopoulos

    COPLAND

Director: James Mangold Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Anabella Sciorra

The first thing you notice about this movie is the excessive weight being lugged around by the actors. There has been considerable publicity about the twenty kilos that Stallone piled on but nothing has been mentioned about the appearance of flubber on the other actors in the film. I fear it is because, while Stallone deliberately put the weight on himself, the other actors have let themselves go in the past year or so. Harvey Keitel is no longer the tight, taut body he was in MEAN STREETS and Ray Liotta is obviously been gorging on ring-dings due, no doubt, to the fact that he hasn't been in a Scorsese movie since GOODFELLAS. On the other hand, Robert De Niro, while he isn't exactly resembling RAGING BULL days, seems to be enjoying his meals at his Tribeca restaurant a bit too much, whereas Cathy Moriarty thought it may be a good career move to do the De Niro thing and look like Jake La Motta. All in all, the stellar cast of this film carries some excessive baggage in more ways than one.

Weight issues aside, COPLAND is a well-structured, well-cast, well-acted, well-photographed and well-directed film. While it is no GOODFELLAS, it has all the ingredients of a better than average cop/corruption movie. The cast is mind-boggling. It was great to see Keitel with De Niro again, Liotta with De Niro, Keitel with Liotta, Sciorra with a white guy and Stallone with someone else other than Talia Shire and Burt Young.

The film centres on an attempted police cover-up over a cop shooting a couple of crack-addicted black folk (for a change). The young cop, being so distressed, jumps off the George Washington Bridge. But did he jump? We find out later that his uncle (Keitel) set it up so that he could get away with the killing but things don't go to plan. Things become messy and now the uncle has no choice but to save his own ass by actually killing his adopted nephew. Stuck in the middle of all this is Freddie (Stallone), the sherrif of the town where these policeman reside. The police town "where everyone feels safe to cross the street" is Garrison in New Jersey (I didn't think anyone was safe in Jersey), just over the Washington Bridge from where the cop allegedly jumped from. Freddy knows that the kid is alive and now has the dilemma of either doing nothing and keeping his police friends and quiet job or he could do something for himself, his career and justice, Amen. Guess which option Stallone chooses?

This film could have been a turkey. Stallone could have flexed his muscle and turned his character from a repressed loner to a Rambo-like law enforcer. But no, instead we have Stallone giving a terrific performance and his best one sinceum,well...Rocky 1. His usual droopy eyes and incoherent mumbling are perfect for a character who lacks the confidence and self-esteem to take any decisive action (talk about a stretch) until he is forced too. While the film is not short of action, opting to delve a bit more into the characters than the usual Hollywood fare, the predictable final shoot-out is a knockout. It is shot with a muffled sound to reflect Stallone's impaired hearing and the silence is deafening.

The heavyweights put in their usual strong performances, especially Keitel who, thank God, isn't playing another sweet-natured middle-aged man and plays what he was born to play: a baddie. The surprise packet is Stallone. His performance is a revelation. There is a beautiful scene with Anabella Sciorra where she asks him why he hasn't married and he gives her this dopey, alcohol-induced stare and says "Because the good ones are taken" and his head falls on her shoulder. It is such a touching and restrained performance that leaves you wanting more. I want more of Stallone like this. More sensitive, caring and lovey-dovey. More acting and less high testoserone, macho, American flag-waving bullshit. Give me a character I can work with. Despite my wishes, I hear Stallone is planning another Rambo film and his next film is a mindless action flick. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.

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