Thursday, September 16, 2010

Brookylns Finest Remains Popular With The Masses

By Gabriel Bush

One of the sleeper movies of the year, Brookylns Finest, was released in March with mixed reviews, but that didn't stop avid action junkies from flooding the theaters looking for an interesting twist on an old story line. Due to the efforts of writer Michael C. Martin and directory Antoine Fugua, this film has made the list of one of the top cop movies since 1973 as well as grossed more profits than expected. Set in the 65th precinct of New York City's Police Department, the problems of living in the inner city all come to light in this well acted film.

One of the films outstanding features is the all-star cast that provides riveting performances that keep audiences drawn into the story. Renowned actors such as Wesley Snipes, Richard Gere, Lili Taylor, Jesse Williams, Ethan Hawke, Ellen Barkin, Don Cheadle and more take viewers through the hardships and problems faced by the men and women of the NYPD on a daily basis. The story reveals the personal and professional problems of three officers who must do almost anything to survive in this precinct.

Filmed predominately in New York, Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn the film takes viewers on a wild ride through the eyes of police officers who often see the worst part of life on a daily basis. To draw viewers in many action-packed sequences have been interwoven into the story. For example, the opening scene shows two men are having a conversation while in a parked car when one is shot in the face. The deceased is then robbed and the killer takes off. It later turns out the killer is actually a police officer in the film who has myriad problems in his personal life.

For many in the law enforcement field there is a thin line between what is right and what is wrong and this is often complicated by problems unfolding in their personal lives. Money problems, near retirement, undercover work, and much more affects the decisions made on a daily basis and often creates the automatic responses many police officers rely upon to survive. The development of the story line in this film comes to a neat conclusion, although unexpected, when the three key players wind up in the same location at the same time for very different reasons.

The story that unfolds is intriguing for various reasons, one of which it is based on the personal experiences of writer Michael Martin. The writer grew up in this area of New York and is written in such a way as to help viewers unfamiliar with the area, to appreciate the difficulty of living in this area. Although it was filmed on a modest budget, due to the fact many of the actors felt it was a story that needed to be told, their lesser incomes helped bring the film to completion.

The film was first viewed at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009 as well as the Venice Film Festival later that year before it was picked up by Overture Films for circulation. It has been met with mixed reviews by critics and audiences alike, so far, but has been praised for the acting and character development of individual cast members. Critic reviews brought the value of the film into question, but audiences throughout the world seem to disagree.

However, as with all critics they do not take into account the personal tastes of mass audiences. Coming in at #11 in the all-time "Dirty Cop Movie" category (based on releases from 1973 to the present), this film saw $13 million in profits in its first week coming in at #2 behind Alice in Wonderland. During its theater run it gross over $27 million dollars and once released internally earned an addition #34 million.

Brookylns Finest is currently #1 in DVD sales which indicates that the mass audience is much better than predicted. It is rated R for nudity, language, sexuality, drug content, and violence and runs a little over two hours. For those who love to live life on the streets through film, it is definitely one that should be viewed.

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