Genre: Drama/Crime
Director: Gavin O'Connor
Cast: Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight, Noah Emmerich, Jennifer Ehle, Frank Grillo, Rick Gonzalez, Shea Wigham, Jessica Pimentel, John Ortiz, Lake Bell, Manny Perez, Carmen Ejogo
RunTime: 2 hrs 10 mins
Released By: Warner Bros
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language and Violence)
Official Website: http://www.prideandglorymovie.com/

Opening Day: 18 December 2008

Synopsis:

A saga centered on a multi-generational family of New York City Police officers. The family's moral codes are tested when Ray Tierney (Edward Norton), investigates a case that reveals an incendiary police corruption scandal involving his own brother-in-law (Colin Farrell). For Ray, the truth is revelatory, a Pandora's Box that threatens to upend not only the Tierney legacy but the entire NYPD.

Movie Review:

Being a MAJOR fan of Edward Norton, I was disappointed when Pride and Glory’s release date was pushed back from 14 March 08 to an undisclosed date in 2009 by New Line Cinema. However, somehow or another, they decided to once again meddle with the release date… and brought it forward. Well, good for us viewers who are sort of stuck with Christmas/light-hearted/romance movies for this season but want something more menacing and dark.

The movie starts off quickly enough with a rousting and emotional football match between the NYPD and I-can’t-quite-remember-which-other-district’s police department – a showy display of masculinity, violence, competition and obscenities that is a well-suited prelude for what’s to come in the next 2 ½ hours. Soon enough, the story quickly ascends to one of murder, corruption and then, betrayal – with all the male members of the Tierney family involved.

The casting absolutely shine here: we have the stoic and old-fashioned Francis Tierney Sr (played by Jon Voight who replaced original actor Nick Nolte), a respectable cop, Francis Tienery Jr. (Noah Emmerich), caught in the middle of personal ambition and morals; and an aggressive and temperamental Irish spitfire Jimmy Egan (played to the T by Colin Farrell) brother-in-law to Francis Jr. and Ray. Of course, not forgetting, the rational, soft-spoken and righteous dark horse, Ray Tierney, played brilliantly by Edward Norton who once again transforms into another character; this time, very much aided by a huge scar on his left cheek (of which, its origins were briefly explained in a pivotal scene) and an overall scruffy appearance.

However, it is not correct to say that the film was perfect; no, it is everything but. Pride and Glory has a pretty much formulaic plot and also often suffers from an overdose of unnecessary melodrama and a tad too many racial clichés. Nonetheless, it compensates with an adequate amount of action and thrilling scenes and the introduction of interesting and well-developed characters. Pride and Glory is synthetic entertainment, not anywhere near a movie based on original and provocative material, but nonetheless, entertaining entertainment.

If you like American Gangster or The Infernal Affairs movie trilogy (Note: Hong Kong version), you will definitely take kindly to Pride and Glory. There’s the usual “morals, ethnics, shaky definition of Right VS Wrong (a la: Is it wrong to take bribes from gangsters/drug lords for protection especially when they unjustifiably earn much more than an average cop? Is it right to turn your own family in, and as a result, destroy their lives, for the sake of righteousness and honesty?) ” salad mix going on here with some family moments thrown in; thus, the cops in NYPD aren’t just men armed with badges and guns; they are vulnerable men with everyday problems faced with inescapable temptations arising from the gritty and seedy underbelly of the New York.

So, don’t walk into the cinema expecting clear-cut cookie cutter characters – most of the baddies aren’t as bad as the some of the cops (something point-blankly highlighted in a particularly heart-thumping scene involving a baby and a steaming iron) –, and … some sort of heartwarming family drama because in Pride and Glory, no one is to be trusted, including your family members.

Movie Rating:



(Betrayal messes things up)

Review by Casandra Wong