Rampart Review

9th Jul 2012

Woody Harrelson is something of a cinematic anomaly. He pops up here and there in huge blockbusters (2012; Zombieland), was once the leading man of both action and comedy, but has throughout always made smaller independent films (Welcome to Sarajevo; The Messenger). He is therefore hard to peg – and perhaps this is the point of his career. It’s a shame then that the majority of his low budget work gets seen by such a selective audience as he is often the best thing on screen in many of the films he makes (big or small).

The real kicker is that in his smaller films he tends to get the lead role, and therefore has even more time to shine in his character portrayals. Rapart is no exception. Harrelson plays police officer Dave Brown who has been given the unfortunate moniker “Date Rape.” Brown is far from an ideal cop, but is smart enough to mange his authoritarian superiors with a grand intellect and full understanding of how the system works.

Dave runs into trouble when he is caught on camera beating a suspect and has just about everyone around him coming down on him – all eager to give him the boot. Added to his less than clean service record; his alcoholism; womanising and indulgence in just about every selfish need he can muster. Despite this his weak attempts to connect with his estranged family and two daughters leaves him spiralling out of control.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that James Ellroy has hand a hand in the script about corrupt policemen, but this time it’s even more of a character study than it is about the events that drive the character. And Harrelson brings that character to life. Rampart is a hard and often melancholy effort.

The cast is rounded out with appearances from Ned Beatty, Robin Wright, Sigourney Weaver, Steve Buscemi, Ice Cube and Harrelson’s The messenger co-star Ben Foster (who also produces).