Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageCopLand (1997)
Director: James Mangold
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
When all your citizens are big city cops, NYPD seeking rest in the New Jersey commuter belt, who will police the police? Out of a mixture of complaisance, natural deference and an inferiority complex as big as his middle-age spread, local sheriff Freddy Heflin (Stallone) has let things slide, turning a blind eye to the dubious activities of detective Ray Donlan (Keitel) and his cohorts. Freddy's jerked out of his lethargy when Internal Affairs send Moe Tilden (De Niro) to investigate the apparent suicide of another cop, Donlan's cousin. Writer/director Mangold's latter-day Western is overloaded with good actors, though the bulk of the drama falls on Stallone's broad shoulders. It's effective casting. Stallone's slow, stunted speech patterns mesh well with Freddy's dim realisation that sometimes integrity isn't enough, that you have to put yourself on the line for what you want. His clumsy, unconsummated relationship with Liz (Sciorra) is especially touching - accompanied by scratchy Springsteen records. The mystery suspense elements, however, grind from implausibility (the set-up), to cliché (the climax), with too much back story in betweenAuthor: TCh
Cast & crew
Director: James Mangold
Producer: Cary Woods, Cathy Konrad, Ezra Swerdlow
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Peter Berg, Janeane Garofolo, Annabella Sciorra, Noah Emmerich, Cathy Moriarty, Deborah Harry full cast
Genre(s): Thrillers
Duration: 105 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing
What do you think?
Post your review now