“Pride and Glory” a gritty, edgy, emotional look at the brotherhood of police officers and a family being torn apart by a corruption that could tear one NYPD precinct apart… Colin Farrell, Edward Norton, Jon Voight and Noah Emmerich are outstanding.   I’m not going to predict it now – because this could be buried by the success of last year’s success of “The Departed” – but I would not be surprised to see one or two Academy Award nominations for this movie.

“Pride and Glory”

(2008) (rated: R for strong violence, pervasive language and brief drug content) (2 hr, 5 min)

Starring: Colin Farrell, Edward Norton, Jon Voight, Noah Emmerich, Jennifer Ehle, John Ortiz

Genre: Crime/Drama/Police

The Plot: A saga centered on a multi-generational family of New York City Police officers. The family’s moral codes are tested when Ray Tierney, investigates a case that reveals an incendiary police corruption scandal involving his own brother-in-law.

MY TAKE (spoiler free):

“Pride and Glory” is a visceral experience that easily jumps into the Top 10 best police dramas I’ve seen… with a storyline focused on the family relationships struggling to stay strong despite a tragedy that killed 4 police officers and a corruption that could wreck everyone’s career.

The acting is exceptional from the entire cast – everyone from the leads to supporting characters, the storyline is great, the camerawork is a good mix: sometimes traditional and sometimes the shaky on-the-shoulder camera – but the director uses them at the right times to keep it from being a distraction, the editing is good, and the violence isn’t forced or over-the-top – its not too much – its intense when it needs to be and implied when it doesn’t need to be.

This movie assumes you’re pretty smart – it doesn’t hold your hand and spend too much time explaining backstories of the characters… it assumes you can figure out those things on your own without all the added dialogue and sidebar storylines that can bog down other movies.

Colin Farrell and Edward Norton are great in their roles as police officers on opposite sides of the corruption, but both with strong ties to the family that complicate their decisions.    This could be one of the better performances for Farrell who brings that cocky intensity, but still makes it hard to hate him with his tender moments with his family.    Norton constantly brings excellence to his roles, and while this may not be his best ever (”American History X”, “The Score”, or “Rounders”) – it is very good!   Jon Voight is really good in the role of patriarch and has a funny slant to this very serious character.   This is probably the best performance of Noah Emmerich’s under-the-radar career.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

“Pride and Glory” is a great police drama with no real flaws, with very strong acting, story, script, and directing… I give it 9.0 out of 10…. and I’m hoping to see some kind of Academy Award Nomination for this movie…. although last year’s “The Departed” could hurt this movie’s chances as another crime drama.

ALSO CHECK OUT MY INTERVIEW WITH JON VOIGHT ABOUT “PRIDE AND GLORY”

So what did you think?  Please post a comment!

“Pride & Glory” poster courtesy New Line Cinema

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