Brooklyn's Finest is a title that either rings with hope or drips with irony and bitterness. The film walks a knife's edge between both states, keeping us in suspense over which direction the three protagonists might fall.
We first meet our troubled cop heroes at a time when the Brooklyn police are hated by the populace. A scandal involving corruption, robbery and the murder of an unarmed civilian has completely ruined the force's reputation, possibly for good. “Tango” (Don Cheadle), an undercover operative, is fast becoming a trusted member of a dangerous street gang and is alarmed by how little he considers himself to be a cop anymore. Eddie (Richard Gere) is a burned-out patrolman who abandoned his idealism so long ago he can barely remember possessing it at all. Sal (Ethan Hawke) is on the S.W.A.T. team, unable to afford the basic necessities for his growing family, and taking incredible risks in order to steal money from crime scenes before it winds up in the evidence locker. It is hinted that each has committed appalling acts in the interest of what they perceive to be a greater good, and they sometimes seem terrified about what will happen if their grip on morality slips any further. Any one of these cops might turn around the department's disastrous reputation, or make things far, far worse.
Each of the three main characters has a separate storyline, and they don't intersect until the end, so it's a bit like watching three short films edited together. Fortunately, all three plots are utterly mesmerizing, and the trajectories of these damaged souls are unpredictable and harrowing. We are constantly bracing ourselves for these basically decent men to do something unforgivable, and the tone of the film makes it very apparent that things can always get worse. At times, the ethical dilemmas seem as wrenching as anything from The Bicycle Thief (1948), which is high praise indeed. When violence occurs, it does so with blood-chilling suddenness, shocking and emotionally devastating.
This is a brilliant film. I urge you to see it.
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