Pride and Glory (15)

I have been waiting to see this film with built up anticipation for nearly a year and it did not disappoint! Set in New York State the film depicts a saga centred on a multi-generational family of NYPD officers. The family's moral codes are tested, their ethics are questions and an ultimate question is asked; what will they sacrifice? When Ray Tierney (An excellent Norton), investigates a case that reveals an incendiary police corruption scandal involving his own brother-in-law. For Ray, the truth is revelatory, a Pandora's Box that threatens to upend not only the Tierney legacy but the entire NYPD.

All the cast are on terrific form - particularly Ed Norton (Ray Tierney) and Colin Farrell (Jimmy Egan). There are essentially three brothers, two by blood and one by marriage. The age old story of corrupt cops and their culpability is at the centre of the film and at its heart are family values and loyalty that rival the ones in seen The Godfather trilogy.

Over the last year we have seen films such as Harsh Times, In The Valley of Elah, The Departed and more recently Street Kings and Righteous Kill, all of which concern the American Police Force in some way or other and have placed emphasis on down and out city areas. Pride and Glory does do all of this but with an original twist, it is not obvious from the outset who is involved in what and too what extent. Which is great as it keeps you guessing the majority of the way through the film, the climax is a bit of a shock.

What are you willing to give up and in the end who are you willing to fight for? One of the best scenes is what is supposed to be a showdown fight between two of the “brothers”. The setting is in a bar and the two go at it like school boys in a playground, the strange element of it is that in the background the jukebox is blaring Irish instrumental folk music.

My only criticism is the fact that the first thirty minutes is full of unessecary f-bombs and a lot of Spanish dialogue, strangely without subtitles. Other than that the film is homage to the great gangster films made in yester year. A muscular, old-school American film, with big themes splashed on a big canvas, it is both familiar and original at the same time. In an Age of Irony, these are the kinds of films that you rarely see anymore. An honest and gripping drama from start to climax, I can honestly say that I have not been this gripped in the cinema since seeing American Gangster.

Amy V Gathercole