Cop Land

UK Release Date. 15 December 1997
Certification. 15
Running Time. 1 hour 45 mins
Director. James Mangold
Cast. Peter Berg, Robert De Niro, Janeane Garofalo, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Cathy Moriarty, Arthur Nascarella, Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra, John Spencer, Sylvester Stallone.
Rating. 64%

Review.

Released eight months after Daylight, Cop Land affords Sylvester Stallone the opportunity to position himself as a genuine actor, following the woeful early 1990s fare, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, Demolition Man and Judge Dredd. 

Stallone plays the docile New Jersey Sheriff, Freddy Heflin. A character who on the surface appears content with his life and his standing in the small town of Garrison. But he is struggling with just about every moral decision he has made in his life, largely because he is surrounded by wholly immoral people. He radiates frailty and quiet resignation - and these inner battles are subtly displayed by a range of nuanced expressions. Indeed, this is as lethargic, as low-key and as layered a performance as you will see from Sylvester Stallone. His sympathetic portrayal of Sheriff Heflin gives Cop Land much of its heart as he is left to observe misplaced and displaced allegiances, and ultimately confront wider corruption in the New York Police Force. Never mind Rocky Balboa or John Rambo, this may just be the best performance of his career.

Alongside Stallone, credibility is provided by Harvey Keitel as Lieutenant Ray Donlan, Ray Liotta as Gary Figgis, a cocaine-addicted police officer trying to break the habit (much to the annoyance of Donlan) and Robert De Niro as Lieutenant Moe Tilden of Internal Affairs. These on-screen behemoths are ably supported by the likes of Janeane Garofalo, Annabella Sciorra, Robert Patrick and Michael Rapaport. With such an impressive cast, the film should make for essential viewing.

The screenplay, written by director James Mangold has the complexity of a novel. But this complexity, combined with over-zealous editing results in an unwieldy storyline with too much going on. For example, early in the film Sheriff Heflin crashes his police car whilst drunk, but there is no subsequent mention of his drinking problem in the remainder of the film. Likewise, the relationship between Sheriff Heflin and Liz Randone (Annabella Sciorra), a girl he saved from drowning as a teenager is established abruptly and developed implausibly. Robert De Niro's character suffers even worse. Lieutenant Moe Tilden has three significant scenes in the film and little in between to show the workings of the investigation.

Cop Land is the second film from director James Mangold, following the well-received, Heavy released the previous year. His talent still shines through. In the writing. In the dialogue. In the ambition of the project. But character development is sorely missing and the film lacks a definitive clarity. 20-30 minutes of additional footage may have made Cop Land an electrifying ensemble drama and an intellectually challenging neo-noir.