Directed by: James Mangold
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Robert DeNiro, Ray Liotta, Peter Berg, Cathy Moriarty, Annabella Sciorra, John Cooper, Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport, Janeane Garofolo, Noah Emmerich
If you look closely at the cast of Cop Land, you would think it was another Martin Scorsese movie. Cop Land, however, is Scorsese-light. It details a group of New York police officers who, through mob connections, live in nice homes in Garrison, New Jersey, a quiet town where you can see the Manhattan skyline. Garrison's sheriff is the ineffectual Freddy Heflin (Stallone), who worships the NYPD, but was unable to serve with them due to being deaf in one ear. Freddy spends his time pining for Liz Randone (Sciorra), the woman he saved from drowning as a young girl which cost him his hearing in that ear. Liz is married to Joey (Berg), one of the crooked NYPD officers who lives in Garrison, which is just one more turn of the screw.
The NYPD officers are led by Ray Donlan (Keitel), who orchestrates some questionable moves during the course of Cop Land. One is how he deals with Officer Murray Babich (Rapaport), his nephew who is wanted for questioning in the deaths of two young men. Murray, while intoxicated, fires on two men he thought were pointing guns at him. It turns out they have no weapons, and after Murray's friends try to plant a gun, Murray supposedly jumps off a bridge. Internal Affairs detective Moe Tilden (DeNiro), smells a rat, and investigates further. He tries to enlist Freddy's help, but Freddy declines because he hero-worships Ray and his obviously corrupt crew.
It becomes apparent to Moe and Freddy that Murray is still alive, and Ray makes it easy to deduce when he throws Murray a party which everyone in town attends... hours after his sham funeral. It is here where Cop Land begins to unravel. Why would Ray, as smart as he is, throw a bash where Murray is the guest of honor even though he is supposed to be dead? And considering Ray plans on killing Murray to tie up any loose ends, why throw a party for him? Another wild card is Gary Figgis (Liotta), another member of Ray's crew who had a recent falling out with the bunch over the death of Gary's partner which occurred while in jail.
Later, when Freddy confronts Ray about Murray, Ray doesn't even deny that he's even alive. He says, "Like you, the kid's mixed up," What? When Ray goes to Ray's wife (Moriarty) to find out where Murray is, she doesn't even respond: "Murray's dead, don't you remember?" As the Murray situation unfolds, we are utterly distracted by Ray's motives. Freddy himself is weighed down by guilt, low self-esteem, regrets, and a touch of alcoholism. That's more than any actor, especially one with Stallone's skill, should have to burden. Cop Land never lives up to its potential. You would think a movie with this cast and this setup should crackle with energy, but it becomes bogged down in events which don't make sense and makes you wonder how these characters were able to gain the power they have.
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