Movie Review: Rampart

Rampart

R, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed By

Oren Moverman

Written By

James Ellroy, Oren Moverman

Genres

Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense

Main Actors: Woody Harrelson, Sigourney Weaver, Anne Heche, Cynthia Nixon, Ice Cube, Robin Wright, Ned Beatty, Steve Buscemi, Brie Larson

Easy on the eyes factor: 3. Very dark drama. Everyone is emotionally scared, beat up and depressed. Not many smiles in this film. Although there are sex scenes, the movie is not sexy by any stretch of the imagination. Even as cute as Anne Heche can be, in Rampart, she is just beat down.

30 Minute Rule: Yes. You immediately begin to see what a tyrant, loser and overall bad person Officer Dave Brown is right from the beginning. It doesn't take long to decide if this is a movie for you or not.

Plot: Los Angeles, 1999 - Officer Dave Brown (Harrelson) is a Vietnam vet and a Rampart Precinct cop, dedicated to doing "the people's dirty work" and asserting his own code of justice, often blurring the lines between right and wrong to maintain his action-hero state of mind. When he gets caught on tape beating a suspect, he finds himself in a personal and emotional downward spiral as the consequences of his past sins and his refusal to change his ways in light of a department-wide corruption scandal seal his fate.

My Review: This was one of the darkest films that I've seen in a long time. Woody Harrelson is very convincing as a rogue cop. But even more importantly, his life is a mess. Bad father, bad husband, bad human being overall. His life is crap. He abuses cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol and you just feel that there is no hope for his character. Everyone in the movie is brought down by his antics and his outlook on life. He even has two daughters by two sisters and they all live under one roof. Him, the two sisters and his two daughters. Very strange. His boss, played by Sigourney Weaver might be the best looking, well-kept character in the film. But even she is stressed and brought down by Officer Dave Brown.

For me, the movie was a little too depressing. Every chapter just went deeper and deeper into an abyss and there was no signs of daylight. The movie kept getting darker and darker. Robin Wright's character eyes had deep crows feet and the director must have wanted to keep them that way to show the stress in her face. The aging. Cynthia Nixon's role looked as if she was a happy person, but just did not have the strength to smile. She coped from scene to scene.

I was not a fan of this film. I need more clarity in my movies. Yes, I can appreciate some dark dramas, but I need a redeeming character or two throughout the film, just to give me a sense that everything can be OK. Rampart did not do this.

Rating: 3 of 10 ♥♥♥