By Linda Winsh-Bolard
Detective Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves} is a bit of maverick in LAPD, more so since his wife died. His latest acts freed, somewhat abruptly, kidnapped, jailed children and resolved the legal problems of the kidnappers –jailers by leaving them dead.
While he savors his success, Ludlow is surprised by information that his former partner, Terrence Washington (Terry Crews), has apparently “given him up” to the internal affairs. Ludlow cannot understand why, and what exactly he had done to alienate Washington. They were the legend: "the black and white in black and white".
By chance, he sees what he believes to be potential robbers, coming to a small, neighborhood market. He gets in and finds Washington already there. Tom doesn’t’ manage to convince Washington of the incoming attack, and when it does happen, everybody in the shop, safe Ludlow, dies.
The department covers up his presence. His boss, vice Capt. Jack Wander {Forest Whitaker} explains to him that he is already under suspicion; it might look like he hired the assassins to get rid of Washington and his testimony. In the aftermath, Ludlow gets shifted to receiving complaints. Yet, Internal Affairs won’t give up.
Many things bother Ludlow, chiefly the fact that Washington’s killers would go free. The bitterness of Washington’s wife, her accusations against Ludlow’s department and his own supposed blindness disturb him. With the unwilling help of the official murder investigator, Paul Diskant (Chris Evans), Tom does what he always did: he finds out what has happened.
There are no happy endings here. “We are all bad people” say Wander and it seems to run-through the film.
The film is based on James Ellroy's story. Unlike the much better L.A. Confidential, this is about corruption, deceits and hunger for power. Everybody has a secret, the keepers of the secrets have the power, and after a while the power corrupts him (women are absent here, except for the supine kind). In LA Confidential everyone had to face his/her worst fear, and to deal with that fear. How they dealt with it, was in integral part of the story.
The moral discovery, dilemma and human quality are missing in Street Kings. Instead, there are buckets of blood, rotting bodies and constant danger. Violence permeates the film along with self-interest, special group interest and indifference. Cops cover for each other and” if teachers could, they would do it, too” says Wader. Probably true. But not neither new, nor surprising.
What Ellroy had written years ago about the 50s, might have shocked then, today it’s accepted.
What the film presents, with many twists and decoys, is often improbable, because frankly, there are no Father figures looking after their own anymore anywhere.
Forest Whitaker is lovely in his role of a disappointed protector, who truly cannot comprehend his ungrateful child, Ludlow. Tough cop ruthlessly seeking promotion nicely blended with proud father figure; it is the kind of part in which he excels. Keanu Reeves is surprisingly good as tough cop devastated by the circumstances in which his wife died, fighting alcoholism, reckles gunfighter and yet, unbelievable naïve cop.
Shot and edited fast, with plenty of darkness, sordid street life, gun fights, fist fights, and some vintage cars, it is definitively not boring. But it’s lacking the multi-layered complexity of human feelings and reasoning that would have made it another classic. It fell flat in LA street dust.
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Fox Searchlight and Regency Enterprises present a 3 Arts Entertainment production
Directed by: David Ayer, Camera: Gabriel Beristain, Screenwriters: James Ellroy, Kurt Wimmer, Jamie Moss
Story: James Ellroy
Producers: Erwin Stoff, Alexandra Milchan, Lucas Foster,Executive producers: Arnon Milchan, Michele Weisler, Bob Yari
Music: Graeme Revell, Editor: Jeffrey Ford
Cast:
Tom Ludlow: Keanu Reeves
Capt. Wander: Forest Whitaker
Capt. Biggs: Hugh Laurie
Detective Diskant: Chris Evans
Scribble: Cedric "The Entertainer" Kyles
Sgt. Clady: Jay Mohr
Detective Washington: Terry Crews
Linda Washington: Naomie Harris
Running time -- 109 minutes
MPAA rating: R
