It takes a gifted director to weave together three different stories into one cohesive tale. Director Antoine Fuqua (TRAINING DAY) is just such a director. And this week’s release of BROOKLYN’S FINEST proves that.
Taking place in the current streets of Brooklyn, the story focuses on three different policemen who work there, each dedicated to their job but also taking divergent paths as a result of the day to day struggles they face.
Ethan Hawke plays Sal, a family man who would do anything to protect and take care of his family. Unfortunately this includes stealing money from thieves that he busts or killing bad guys and taking their money. Sal has 4 kids, lives in a house filled with mold, has a wife who is pregnant with twins and ill due to the mold and is looking for a new place. All it takes is money. As a top cop in on numerous drug raids, this puts Sal in a position to take dirty money.
Don Cheadle plays Tango, a deep undercover cop who is perhaps the best of the three depicted here. Tango has gone undercover enough that he spent time in prison posing as a street hustler and drug dealer. But life on the inside is ruining his life on the outside. And with each passing day, Tango finds himself drawn deeper into the seedy world he now inhabits, changing his perception of reality from what he knew to what he is experiencing.
Lastly we have Richard Gere as Eddie. A street cop who has seen it all, Eddie is one week from retirement. Exposed to the worst that humanity has to offer, Eddie courts thoughts of suicide but carries forward looking forward to his last day. Eddie has tired of fighting the good fight only to see something worse replace it. He has given up hope for humanity. He just wants to move on.
As the movie progresses each of these characters never interact, but they do run into one another briefly. Sal is facing the temptations of selling his soul in an attempt to fulfill the family dream of a new house. With only days left till their dream home is gone, he must make that final choice of whether to pass over to the side of semi-villain or not.
Tango is trying to finish his turn undercover. Done in an attempt to make gold shield detective, his plans are disrupted when the FBI steps in and tries to force him into one last operation. They need a symbol of the drug kingpin world to go down, replacing the public’s current image of the police as thugs after the shooting death of an innocent young man in the projects. And their target is Caz (Wesley Snipes), a man involved in drug transportation but also the man who saved Tango’s life in prison. While on opposing sides, Tango still feels a debt towards the man.
Eddie is forced to work with the rookies just starting in the precinct. Unwilling to make it a pleasant experience, he still focuses on just making it through the day. Ignoring obvious crimes not taking place in his precinct, leaving a new partner in a touch situation, it is day by day for Eddie. But a moment will change all that as he leaves for a new life.
Fuqua does a tremendous job not only of making us care for each of these flawed characters, he moves from one story to the next with ease. Each tale reflects the other, each story focusing on policemen and how the temptations arise, how the stress of the job affects their decisions and how those decisions may not always be the right one.
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