Next, from the exciting world of “why was this film made?” comes an ugly piece of redundancy known as Rampart, which differs from Bad Lieutenant and Bad Lieutenant: FYNC only in that Woody Harrelson, fittingly, doesn’t rank as high as Harvey Keitel or Nicolas Cage.
Woody plays 90s douchebag LA cop Dave Brown. Apologies to the literally hundreds of Dave Browns out there who aren’t douchebags. The 90s weren’t a fun time to be an LA cop; Rampart sees that and dares to ask, “if Rodney King had it rough, what about those guys who beat him up?” Rampart doesn’t go so far as to infer any of them have human feelings, but does suggest they might have family members who do. Dave has two daughters by two marriages from two sisters, played by Cynthia Nixon and Anne Heche. They’ve had enough of his shit. His eldest daughter Helen (Brie Larson), a free-spirited teen, calls him “Date Rape” Dave, a nickname acquired from a spot of vigilantism that Dave milks for all it’s worth. She’s had enough of his shit. The mayor, D.A., police brass and boss (Sigourney Weaver and Steve Buscemi are both in that group somewhere) have had enough of Dave’s shit. The IA investigator (Ice Cube) has had enough of Dave’s shit. The women Dave cons into bed with his vigilante story have had enough of his shit. And by the middle of the film, I had had enough of Dave’s shit, too. It’s probably a good thing Dave doesn’t own a dog, because that would just be sad.
Dave Brown seems to remain on the police force on the sole ability of making any other cop look good by comparison. And Dave is fairly remarkable in that every single facet of his personality can be found wanting. Even his nice moment as a family man is tempered with his suggestion that his daughter shirk responsibility and come watch television. So … why was this film made? Do we need another peek into a lawless law enforcer’s life? Seems a shame to waste such a quality cast, but I just don’t see the market for the portrait of a dirty cop and a film unwilling to sell us on any perspective other than the obvious. Do we dislike the cops who beat Rodney King? Of course we do. This film doesn’t do a single thing to move us into the “you’d get it if you were there” category. Nor does it demonize Dave. He does that to himself. Late in the film, Woody walks away from a dying man. Here’s your big chance at redemption, Rodney King beater, and … you’re gonna take a pass. In another movie, this scene might be poignant. In this one, “callous” doesn’t even rank top-10 among the worst adjectives attributed to Dave Brown.
Tough to find a Woody Harrelson vehicle. Ain’t it? While his career has taken a monumental upturn since Zombieland – and rightly so, he’s still not a leading man. He is convincing here as a vile container of excrement, but I gotta believe his Haymitch Abernathy is going to resonate more profoundly when it comes to future employment.
Rated R, 108 Minutes
D: Oren Moverman
W: James Ellroy, Oren Moverman
Genre: Bad Lieutenant
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: ACLU officers
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Law enforcement apologists
