GANGSTER SQUAD
***
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Screenwriter: Will Beal based on the eponymous novel by Paul Lieberman
Principal cast:
Sean Penn
Josh Brolin
Ryan Gosling
Emma Stone
Holt McCallany
Wade Williams
Country: USA
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 113 mins.
Australian release date: 10 January 2013
With the current gun rampages in the USA, this rather violent drama makes for some uncomfortable viewing. And indeed, the release date for Gangster Squad was delayed in the USA due to the necessity of re-shooting the trailer, as the original showed a mob of gangsters shooting up a cinema through the screen. We live in turbulent times, almost as violent as Los Angeles in the 1940s to 1950s. This is when a psychopathic ex-boxer Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) went to war to kick the Chicago mob out of the City of Angels and the LAPD… well, some of them, went all out to stop him from running organised crime in their city.
Cohen was a drug and money laundering baron who ruled with real malevolence. He had everyone under his thumb, including the courts and the cops, many of who were on his payroll. Penn sets the tone for the film. Wearing oversized suits and an expression that could cut through a meat carcass, he makes it clear that he is a force to be reckoned with.
Sgt John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) is commandeered into wiping out Cohen’s businesses and he enlists a group of tough cops, some of whom are ex-army and passionate in the fight to protect their city, considering that’s what they went to war for. O’Mara is a straight-shooter (pardon the pun) who considers that “every man carries a badge” and is identified by the nature of his profession. With his ruthless group, including his reluctant sidekick, Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), they set out to get the dirty business done. Meanwhile Wooters has a relationship with Cohen’s squeeze, Grace (Emma Stone), just to complicate the issue and rack up the tension.
Although a title tells us at the start that the film is based on a true story, scriptwriter Beall plays fast and loose with the facts – this ain’t no documentary. Director Rueben Fleischer takes us on an almost cartoonish killing spree and Australian cinematographer Dion Beebe succeeds in making the movie look like a graphic novel. The use of heightened lighting and framing make for moments when you could almost see the words zap and pow ballooning across the screen, followed by a rat-a-tat-tat accompanying the many machine gun volleys. Penn particularly looks like he’s walked off the set of Dick Tracy, all prostheses and ill-fitting clothes.
This is not a film for everyone but those who like the gangster genre won’t be disappointed. The fine performances by Brolin, Penn and Gosling make for a decent outing. Gangster Squad is a reminder of how unnerving it is when the streets are awash with artillery and gunmen are running amok.
Screenwriter: Will Beal based on the eponymous novel by Paul Lieberman
Principal cast:
Sean Penn
Josh Brolin
Ryan Gosling
Emma Stone
Holt McCallany
Wade Williams
Country: USA
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 113 mins.
Australian release date: 10 January 2013
With the current gun rampages in the USA, this rather violent drama makes for some uncomfortable viewing. And indeed, the release date for Gangster Squad was delayed in the USA due to the necessity of re-shooting the trailer, as the original showed a mob of gangsters shooting up a cinema through the screen. We live in turbulent times, almost as violent as Los Angeles in the 1940s to 1950s. This is when a psychopathic ex-boxer Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) went to war to kick the Chicago mob out of the City of Angels and the LAPD… well, some of them, went all out to stop him from running organised crime in their city.
Cohen was a drug and money laundering baron who ruled with real malevolence. He had everyone under his thumb, including the courts and the cops, many of who were on his payroll. Penn sets the tone for the film. Wearing oversized suits and an expression that could cut through a meat carcass, he makes it clear that he is a force to be reckoned with.
Sgt John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) is commandeered into wiping out Cohen’s businesses and he enlists a group of tough cops, some of whom are ex-army and passionate in the fight to protect their city, considering that’s what they went to war for. O’Mara is a straight-shooter (pardon the pun) who considers that “every man carries a badge” and is identified by the nature of his profession. With his ruthless group, including his reluctant sidekick, Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), they set out to get the dirty business done. Meanwhile Wooters has a relationship with Cohen’s squeeze, Grace (Emma Stone), just to complicate the issue and rack up the tension.
Although a title tells us at the start that the film is based on a true story, scriptwriter Beall plays fast and loose with the facts – this ain’t no documentary. Director Rueben Fleischer takes us on an almost cartoonish killing spree and Australian cinematographer Dion Beebe succeeds in making the movie look like a graphic novel. The use of heightened lighting and framing make for moments when you could almost see the words zap and pow ballooning across the screen, followed by a rat-a-tat-tat accompanying the many machine gun volleys. Penn particularly looks like he’s walked off the set of Dick Tracy, all prostheses and ill-fitting clothes.
This is not a film for everyone but those who like the gangster genre won’t be disappointed. The fine performances by Brolin, Penn and Gosling make for a decent outing. Gangster Squad is a reminder of how unnerving it is when the streets are awash with artillery and gunmen are running amok.