Rampart stars Woody Harrelson as David Brown a police officer in the Rampart division of the LAPD in 1999. Set during the fallout of the famous 'Rampart Scandal' where more than 70 officers were implicated in charges of misconduct, it's not a huge surprise when Dave gets caught on tape beating a man that accidentally crashed into his patrol car. Suddenly he is the centre of the scandal and a poster boy for police brutality. Read on after the break to see what I thought...
Starring: Woody Harrelson plus large ensembe cast
Running Time: 108 mins
***WARNING THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD***
Although the scandal throws his life into disarray it wasn't all that well put together to begin with. He lives side by side with his two ex-wives Barbara (Cynthia Nixon) and Catherine (Anne Heche), the wives each getting a house and him a bachelor pad in back. As if that wasn't weird enough Dave's exes are actually sisters which apparently is not too much of an issue as he still has a sexual relationship with them whenever the mood takes them. Completing the happy family set up are two daughters, one from each ex-wife. The eldest daughter Helen played by the brilliant Brie Larson from the Showtime series 'The United States of Tara' has a strained relationship with her dad from the outset while the younger daughter Margaret (Sammy Boyarsky) slowly pulls away from her father as the storyline progresses.David Brown is a particularly flawed individual and makes no apologies for his misogynistic, racist rhetoric but rather embraces it. One particular scene where that amused me was where he defended himself to Ice Cube's DA Investigator Kyle Timkins by explaining he's clearly not racist as he has been to bed with several of his people, the mere phrasing of the statement highlighting the problem. At times it is like Dave is completely ignorant to his issues; breaking and entering a one night stands apartment, swimming in a pool during a storm and entering his ex-wives house after being kicked out. However there are glimpses of hope through the darkness; Dave's desire to keep his family (no matter how dysfunctional) together, connect with his daughters and be a 'good' cop - although there is some debate over whether he qualifies as such. His moniker on the force is 'Date Rape Dave' a name to which he is first called by his eldest daughter Helen as a sort of a Fuck you Dad angsty teen rebellion. The name refers to a past event where he may or may not have murdered an alleged serial rapist. Although you pretty much think he did, it is never 100% confirmed and is the debate of many characters throughout the film. At first hearing it I thought, you know he's not such a bad guy after all, I get why he did it, he's got two daughters and killed a serial rapist to protect the women of LA. However, as the film progresses it becomes less and less clear of the motives and whether in fact it was actually a good thing after all or just an act in a long line of violent, unprovoked attacks from a corrupt cop.
For someone who does not have much going for him Dave has no trouble getting laid. If the ex-wives are a no go he just wanders down to his favourite watering hole, hits on the first woman he sees then cut to a very disturbing visual of Woody Harrelson sucking on Audra McDonald's toes - ughhh. A scene in which I do question whether was just included so the claim could be made 'how could he be racist he went to bed with a Black woman'. The next woman on the menu was Linda Fentress played by the brilliant Robin Wright. I found the dynamic between Dave and Linda interesting as she at times comes across as a female version of Dave - in Linda he may have met his match. The whole film felt misogynistic in this respect, women falling over themselves for the chance to get with 'Date Rape Dave' the twice divorced, broke, middle aged screw up who is under investigation for police brutality - quite the catch hey ladies!!
Oren Moverman directs well with some interesting editing choices, some which worked (sex club scene) and some which just made me feel dizzy (a meeting in the DA's office with the spinning camerawork). The problem I have with Moverman is he always seems to leave me wanting more. With his earlier work The Messenger from 2009 I was left with a similar feeling at the close of the film which can best be described as 'huh'. Not the good 'huh' mind you as with the ending of films that baffle and intrigue me such as The Skin I Live In (Almodovar 2011) but the bad 'huh' where you're not quite sure if you've just wasted the past hour and a half as you got nothing from the film. Even as I'm writing this review an hour after watching the film I can feel myself forgetting most of it as not a lot happens and what does happen doesn't really grip the audience. I am a big fan of simple films that just present a period in a person's life rather than a big action packed adventure but in those films you need a character to connect with, that you care about. At times the protagonist Dave came close to this with his desire to connect with his daughters and fight for his family but it somehow always fell short. There was no huge sense that Dave learnt anything but rather that he was either gonna get off with it and go back to his violent ways or lose and become a bitter ex-cop who spends all his time talking of the good old days, when cops were left alone to protect the city however they wanted, with one punch and kick at a time.
Final Verdict
Woody Harrelson gives a great performance with a brilliant supporting cast but the film centres around a character who is not particularly likable and at the end leaves you wanting and questioning whether you've wasted your time. It's worth a watch but feels more like a good audition tape for Harrelson than a complete film to grip your attention.
5/10
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