"Russell
Powers Flawed Journey to Redemption in Dark Blue"
Ron
Shelton has not exactly flourished away from sports related
films. Granted, before now he’s only made one, the Paul Newman
Deep South based-on-fact political story Blaze. But in
comparison to his modern-day classics like Bull Durham
and Tin Cup (both, coincidentally, Kevin Costner’s finest
hours), Blaze is a complete mess. Despite a startling
vibrant star turn by Newman, the film bobs and weaves in tone
and idea so frequently that it never really comes together as a
whole.
But
Shelton has always shown a gift with actors, and not only with
those named “Costner.” Rosie Perez and Woody Harrelson sparkled
in White Men Can’t Jump whileRobert Wuhl shinned
as journalist Al Stump in the director’s biography of baseball
legend Ty Cobb in Cobb. And while she won the Oscar for
her portrayal in the exquisite Dead Man Walking, many
believe – and I’m one of them – that Susan Sarandon’s finest
hour can be found as Annie Savoy in Bull Durham.
Now add
Kurt Russell to the list of actors giving career, or near-career
performances, in a Shelton film. But while the director’s latest
Dark Blue is a powerhouse showcase for the gifted – and
under appreciated – actor, it unfortunately is another example
of Shelton’s uneasiness away from the passion of sports. Save
for an excellent second half and Russell’s star turn, Dark
Blue is a policier that only comes tantalizingly close to
satisfying.
It’s not
for lack of pedigree. Based on a story by L.A. Confidential
novelist James Ellroy and a screenplay by Training Day’s
David Ayer and set during the time just before the 1992 L.A.
riots sparked by the Rodney King verdict, Shelton has some
really gritty and ripe material to be working with. But instead
of truly digging into the fabric of what caused those horrific
events and taking a magnifying glass to the belly of the LAPD,
Ellroy and Ayer instead only use the riots as a backdrop for a
fairly rote murder and police corruption tale.
Russell
plays Eldon Perry, the aggressive lead member of the
department’s elite Special Investigations Squad (SIS). While
breaking in new partner Bobby Keough (Felicity’s Scott
Speedman), SIS’ powerful chief Jack Van Meter (Brendan Gleeson,
Gangs of New York, The General) assigns Perry a
relatively straightforward quadruple homicide investigation that
has fallen under the media’s intrusive spotlight. The duo is
ordered to solve the investigation quickly and with extreme
prejudice.
As Perry
and Keough delve deeper they start to conclude that Van Meter
might not really want the real killers to face justice. Faced
with orders to bring down suspects that fit the profile, Perry
is ready to follow his superior’s instructions, learning from
his time under Van Meter’s wing that extreme measures are some
times needed in a town constantly in search of justice. But
Keough isn’t sure. Already having a compromised shooting
weighing on his conscience, the young rookie – and Van Meter’s
nephew – isn’t sure he’s that ready to throw out all his ethics
in the quest for law and order. With Assistant Chief Holland (a
powerfully militaristic Ving Rhames) breathing down SIS’ neck,
will Keough be able to withstand the mounting pressure
surrounding him from all sides?
It’s a
shame the pieces don’t quite connect like they should in Dark
Blue. The actors are all quite dynamic in their respective
roles – save for Speedman who’s hopelessly miscast – and Shelton
shows a gentle ease with them. In fact it is the human moments
that ring truest; a confrontation between Perry and his
estranged wife (Lolita Davidovich, Blaze), Keough’s
breakdown in the arms of an ex-lover (Michael Michele,
Homicide: Life on the Street), Van Meter laying down the
facts of life to two lowlifes he Machiavellianly manipulates;
and it’s clear Shelton knows his way around actors and just
these types of moments.
It is the
rest of the film that doesn’t connect. Lurching along in fits
and starts, Dark Blue never seems to be able to find its
dramatic legs. The first half in particular has major problems,
Shelton laying out his themes and plot line as if he were
diagramming them for a Drama 101 class at a local university. A
far cry from the normal dramatic comedy he’s used to, the
director doesn’t appear to know how to shoot or stage his scenes
so there is an urgency to the picture, weakening the epic
struggle between heaven and hell going on within his protagonist
Eldon Perry.
Then, out
of almost nowhere, Shelton starts getting things right. As Perry
literally descends into hell during the L.A. riots, the film
takes on an eerie melancholia powered by Russell’s impassioned
lead. Visually gripping, the dirt, smoke and grit of a city at
war with itself shatter like nothing else it has put forth up to
that moment. Barry Peterson’s (Zoolander) camera glides
surrealistically through the chaos, echoing the destruction and
pathos of Oliver Stone and Francis Ford Coppola manufactured so
effortlessly in their Vietnam epics. Under the weepy strains of
Terence Blanchard’s (Clockers, Malcolm X)
soulfully restrained and ethereal score, Dark Blue
obtains a bliss of passion and depth it had until now not known,
Russell anchoring it every step of the way.
It’s a
clear vision of the type film Shelton could have made had he
trusted his skills as a visual storyteller just a bit more. I
couldn’t help but think, as Russell gave his fiery speech (these
types of movies always have fiery speeches) and the end
credits started to role, of the Dark Blue Shelton could
have made. And while the movie he completed has its merits, this
journey of tragedy and redemption only comes tantalizingly close
to being anything more than a near miss.
