“Copland” was wonderfully written, perfectly acted, and creatively directed. It just wasn’t as interesting as it should’ve been. The characterizations were unique, and the storyline had some potential, but the movie tried to be a dark thriller, which it simply couldn’t achieve.
Perhaps it didn’t focus enough on a single character. Sylvester Stallone stars as Freddie Heflin, the sheriff in Garrison, New Jersey, a suburb of New York City set up by cops who didn’t want to live in the city. Since the town is ruled by big city cops, he has no power.
His character is satisfactorily developed, and creates a little sympathy for him, but doesn’t really follow through. The sympathy never really turns into anything meaningful relating to the rest of the film.
The problem Heflin is faced with, which he really can’t address, is that the town is effectively run by the mob. Most, if not all, of the cops in Garrison are on the take, and no one has enough power to do anything about it, especially a local sheriff.
The bad cops include Ray Donlan, played by the intense-as-usual Harvey Keitel, Gary Figgis, played by the compelling-as-usual Ray Liotta, and Donlan’s nephew, played by Peter Berg. The movie isn’t long enough to develop that many characters, though.
The plot is set into motion when Donlan’s nephew, nicknamed “Superboy” after a daring rescue, gets into a gunfight after a party, and fakes his own suicide. Then, in a seemingly unrelated incident (aren’t all mob movies like that?), Figgis’s house burns down.
So, Heflin keeps sitting back and watching the world go by when an officer from NYPD Internal Affairs, Moe Tilden (Robert DeNiro) comes by his office. Tilden suspects much of the illegal activity going on in Garrison, and asks Heflin to help, but is denied.
That is, until later, when Freddie finds out that Donlan is trying to kill Superboy to cover their tracks. This apparently pushes Heflin over the edge and, without turning into a Stallone-like superhero, he tries to turn his rage into action.
Unfortunately, a great deal of this is unclear, and the ensuing events get worse. It always feels like a two-and-a-half hour movie cut by forty five minutes. And those forty five minutes held the secret to the rest of the film.
Despite the lack of clarity, all the performances are impressive. Especially notable are DeNiro (as usual) and Liotta. Stallone is better than might be expected of him, but it might not create the instant career makeover that he planned.
“Copland” hints at greatness, but is barely even good. The plot isn’t strong enough to hold up the suggestions of conspiracy and mob involvement. The two terms are thrown around every once in a while, but there isn’t a thread that holds all the events of the film together.
“Copland” is what happens when a poor idea becomes a full-fledged, star-studded movie. I really wanted it to be good, but was disappointed repeatedly as the film went on.
Grade: B-