The Detective
A film whose visual storytelling and thematics fall perfectly in-tune with its protagonist. The restrained yet hungry camerawork, the attentive detail in decoration on certain sets, and the highly controlled acting all communicate The Detective as a film working in mores decades strong at time of release, a hard-boiled procedural about crime and death in the big city, where the weary are worn a little thinner every day but ultimately get their man because that's just the way of things. In content and restlessness, though - its heavier than expected emphasis on the systemic pervasiveness of corruption and brutality within the police force, its serious examination of the consequences born from homophobic rage directed outward and inward alike, its brushes with explicit sex and violence - mark a film eager to participate in the rising ways and ideas of New Hollywood. We want so desperately to explore these exciting, murkier corners of the human spirit and societal rot, yet see no reason their illumination shouldn't be done with the same class and level heads so long in vogue. <PERSON> <PERSON> makes an ideal lead within this push-pull approach, a man who regards himself as basically good in contrast to the proud jackboots and career yes-men populating his department, and for this noble-minded separation cannot deny his own failings in love and prejudice and desire for everything they offer you to toe the line. Every time he stares long and hard into the camera or crumples his face in the corner, you feel he knows just where the next generation dictates the wind blows, tries to orient his feet to follow, but can't escape the ingrained magnetism back to status quo no matter how rotten.
Being so caught between eras does introduce aspects one might call flaws: extended introspection through flashback can get draggy while you're waiting on the next explosive moment, and some efforts to amplify tension through action scenes in the new way come across hokey (doubtless did back then too). 217
<PERSON>'s personal sacrifices at the finale and the plot work leading into them also edge a bit too close to reassurance one singular hero can put it all right again for my taste, despite dialogue establishing this very likely isn't the case. This is a picture which honestly means its marketing line about exploring the world of police work with a properly mature audience in mind, so even near-indulgences of Leland's future cinematic mutation into <PERSON> leave me uneasy. In view of how hard this hits when it really wants ("Keeping 'em naked makes 'em easier to handle. I got the idea from a documentary on the Gestapo," says the black rookie hungering after a promotion) and how the style choices render it so unlike any predecessors or successors, I can accept these weaknesses as the consequences of dancing so boldly on a knife's edge. World's not remotely a nice place, the best of intentions are but grist for the mill, and prejudices kill best when held by those who can't examine them, or won't because there's something in it for temporary blindness. This mother can still crush if you're open to it.
(Surprisingly small part for <PERSON>, all things considered.)
Shrink the Watchlist Challenge! Theme 2 - the most recently added (at the time I made this list like three years ago) film! 698