From Deseret News archives:

Cop Land

Sly's exhibition of talent in 'Cop Land' may be best since starring in 'Rocky.'

Published: Friday, Aug. 22, 1997 1:02 p.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 

Much has been made of Sylvester Stallone's attempt to eschew his macho hero persona and return to serious acting with the police drama "Cop Land" — he took no money up front, he put on 30 pounds for the role, he's on screen with the likes of Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel . . . .

But in the end, none of that really matters. What does matter is whether "Cop Land" works as a character-driven drama and whether Stallone is merely a distraction. Happily, the film works quite well, and Stallone is terrific in the lead.

Stallone plays Freddy Heflin, a deputy sheriff in fictional Garrison, N.J., who is essentially a straw cop. He may give out traffic tickets to people who zip through town, but it's hands-off as far as the locals are concerned.

Garrison, dubbed by those in the know as "Cop Land," is populated by the families of Manhattan police officers who cross the George Washington Bridge every day, keeping their private and professional lives separate. And they make the rules.

Freddy's lifelong dream has been to get on the New York City force, but a hearing impairment has forced him to take this job, which he reasons is the next best thing. But no matter how much he hangs out at the local bar where the "real cops" gather, Freddy knows he's an outsider.

Story continues below

The main plot kicks in when an off-duty officer named Murray (Michael Rapaport) has a run-in with some kids on the bridge, which results in two deaths. He's about to see his career go down in flames until a veteran cop, his Uncle Ray (Harvey Keitel), steps in with an unlikely plan — Murray will fake suicide and be hustled out of town.

In truth, however, Ray has more sinister things in mind. As one of Garrison's ruling residents, he has a lot of family secrets to conceal.

Eventually, when an Internal Affairs cop (Robert De Niro) takes an interest in Garrison and Murray's "suicide," Freddy must decide whether to risk his life to do the right thing or to simply turn the other way, as he has done so often in the past.

He gets some help from one of Ray's corrupt cops (Ray Liotta), and there are subplots about Freddy's love for Liz (Annabella Sciorra), whose life he saved when they were teenagers (a daring underwater rescue that resulted in his partial hearing loss), and an affair between Liz's husband (Peter Berg) and Ray's wife (Cathy Moriarty).

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

Movie Info
Rated R for violence, profanity, vulgarity, brief nudity, drug use.

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra; written and directed by James Mangold
FIND LOCAL MOVIE SHOWTIMES
previousnext

Latest comments

Jazz blow big lead, hang on

Only if the players get swagger and confidence back they can make the big...

I agree Kim should also be on this list!!

First let me make it clear that I am a BYU Fan. But Honestly I have to say...

Letters: Vegas should conserve

To judge the Las Vegas water usage by simply watching a TV in the hotel room...

Anybody asking themselves what they can do at this point and getting that...

12 high schools ready for 'The Turf'

When will the State Championship games be played? anyone know?

I'd hate to be the attorney who defends this guy. Let's hope his attorney(s)...

....fire Sloan.

Anyone who thinks that those who are on assistance in regards to food and...

GOP blasts Matheson after vote

1. Health insurance is not the only way to pay for disease treatment. 2. The...

Advertisements
Advertisement