It's a shame that Brooklyn's Finest doesn't really have a point other than establishing violent death as the only solution to law enforcement calamities. Beautifully shot, the film's gritty depiction of a world filled with crime and injustice, while often harrowing, remains but only that: a depiction. It doesn't seem to give the viewer any comment or offer any alternatives to the dysfuntional state of the NYPD that it portrays through the three disparate narratives of its protagonists: Sal (Ethan Hawke), a high-strung detective desperately seeking extra-cash; Eddie (Richard Gere), a suicidal soon-to-be-retiree who's in love with a prostitute; and Tango (Don Cheadle), a decade-long undercover cop looking for a way out. Through the various tribulations we see these characters endure, we are dually exposed to an inexperienced and exhausted police force whose lack of effective structure ultimately lead to the loss of innocent lives (a fact we are reminded of by media inserts throughout the film). While clichés abound and the character's evolution are quite predictable, the film is greatly redeemed by the crisp night-time photography and, most notably, its performances. Never having been a big fan of Gere, I was surprised by his subdued and convincing portrayal of an empty man futilely seeking to fill his void (which of course he eventually achieves through acts of violence). And as usual, Hawke and Cheadle give engagingly strong performances, the latter's Tango arguably being the film's most honorable character. The film is also strengtened by the appearance of Ellen Barkin and Wesley Snipes, refreshing as a multi-targeted crime boss. While it lacks the social awareness and psychologial depth of earlier cop dramas like Narc (Joe Carnahan, 2002) or Dark Blue (Ron Shelton), Brooklyn's Finest remains a fine addition to the cop-film family, another brutal reflection on the hardening times gone through by the boys in blue.
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