Saturday, October 6, 2012

End Of Watch (2012)

"Officer Van Houser, have you made a difference today?"
 
  

 
From the beginning monologue of this 'found footage' feature I knew I was in for something special. I love the show 'Cops' and the in camera footage used to frame the story of the days in the life of two L.A. patrol officers is visceral and exciting.

Maybe I am already predisposed to love this kind of a movie from the start because my boy Jake is it it but I did love it.

This film is lean and brawny with Oscar worthy performances by Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena.

I get the rush of police work, the power they must feel to be judge and jury and sometimes executioner. This may be a hyper intense view of life in the hood but I have no doubt that each and every scene is true because everything rings with authenticity.

 
The script is tense and tight and often brutal and unforgiving. No conversation seemed out of place. Many scenes are improvised and that energy propels the story along. Combine all the parts and I was riveted. This is life in the urban jungle and the view from the streets is not a pretty one.
 
It's the quiet moments that affected me the most, however. The true friendship between these brothers in arms is sweet and real. The longer I watched them the more I feared that something bad was going to bring this bromance to an quick and violent end.
 
The style of the film only adds to the trippy, hypnotic effect of the whole story. The longer we are on shift with these two, the more intense everything seems to become and that is electric to watch. 
 
Call it weariness or frustration but I grew angry with the waters these sharks had to swim in daily. In similar situations I don't know if I could continue to find the humor in all the horror. This is why it takes a special kind of person to be in law enforcement.
 
Anna Kendrick - once again magical. And that overbite! She can do no wrong as far as I am concerned.
 
Damn, this movie made me care about these people. I hate life in the big city now.  
 
There have been many stories about life on the mean streets of L.A. but this one will stick with you longer than most, I think. I am sure it will appear on many Top Ten lists at the end of the year. Watch this one to make a big splash around Oscar time.
 
 


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