Touted as Sylvester Stallone's return to acting, "Copland" ends up a flawed film. But not because of its acting. In fact, "Copland" should be seen simply for its impressive cast. Like Barry Levinson's "Sleepers," its ensemble cast of stars are used to paint a quiet story instead of some bombastic all-star show. Stallone plays Freddy Heflin, the ineffectual deputy of a New Jersey suburb whose residents are primarily New York City police officers. When a famous cop accidentally kills two motorists in what appears to be a racially motivated misunderstanding, his brutish Uncle Ray - played by Harvey Keitel in his usually satisfying a**hole mode - and his crew of crooked cops try to cover it up. Stallone's help is sought out by a by-the-book investigator (De Niro) to unravel the case. Warning Stallone to avoid any involvement is Ray Liotta as Figgsy, an isolated officer and concerned friend, who knows all too well what Uncle Ray and his crew are capable of.
James Mangold - whose first film "Heavy" was a film so powerful I couldn't watch it more than once - has a wealth of talent and material here. The number of stories told here are almost Altman-esque in how their intertwined. The problem is, he doesn't share enough time with all the actors to really develop many of the sub-plots. Quite simply, the film is over written. Either that, or Mangold could have easily extended this film to three hours (or even more if he wished). Still I'd recommend this film for the performances. Everybody is great, Stallone pulls out a dim-witted version of Michael Corleone's 'suffering in silence' routine, and Ray Liotta spends the whole film in his "Goodfellas" Helicopters-are-following-me haze. De Niro, Keitel and everybody does fantastic.
I especially loved the three schools of thought professed by the characters. Stallone and De Niro adhere to the belief of always doing the right thing no matter what the consequences are, Keitel and his cops believe in sticking up for your friends regardless of whether they're wrong or not, and Liotta's character demonstrates that no alliances should be formed at all, and you should only look out for yourself. A flawed film, but worth at least one viewing.
James Mangold - whose first film "Heavy" was a film so powerful I couldn't watch it more than once - has a wealth of talent and material here. The number of stories told here are almost Altman-esque in how their intertwined. The problem is, he doesn't share enough time with all the actors to really develop many of the sub-plots. Quite simply, the film is over written. Either that, or Mangold could have easily extended this film to three hours (or even more if he wished). Still I'd recommend this film for the performances. Everybody is great, Stallone pulls out a dim-witted version of Michael Corleone's 'suffering in silence' routine, and Ray Liotta spends the whole film in his "Goodfellas" Helicopters-are-following-me haze. De Niro, Keitel and everybody does fantastic.
I especially loved the three schools of thought professed by the characters. Stallone and De Niro adhere to the belief of always doing the right thing no matter what the consequences are, Keitel and his cops believe in sticking up for your friends regardless of whether they're wrong or not, and Liotta's character demonstrates that no alliances should be formed at all, and you should only look out for yourself. A flawed film, but worth at least one viewing.