Harrelson gives a great performance in a movie that is truly a fine example of character study as you'll ever see in a Hollywood movie. The cast is impressive and delivers performances at par with that of Woody's but all are either short or in a few scenes only; that of Ben Foster and Ned Beatty are such, short and few scenes. Take a second to peruse the cast names. It is an intense film and for those who have seen their share of French movies you will see how very similar the character study genre is reminiscent of French movies. There were too many actors I liked in "Rampart" to pass up the movie, besides, I have no aversion to character studies pieces so long as I'm in the right frame of mind; you can't and will not like this movie if you are not at ease with the genre and in the right frame of mind. Why? Because these types of movie are slow and when they do energize, it doesn't lead to a pay-off moment; it simply moves on with a degree of apparent disconnect.
I have read some excellent reviews of this movie, preceding my own, which reviews eloquently make a case for how good and how bad this movie was. Dave Brown, played by Harrelson, is in a dark moment of his life and his job as a cop, makes it that more complicated; the movie is entirely focused on his tribulations, so you must be very open to study of the human nature for this movie to interest you. Had the movie ended tragically with his suicide, I would have a positive view of my experience, just as I would, had there been an ending with his family pulling for him and giving him hope. The abrupt ending instead gives it what I like to call an 'artsy' touch; you have to fill in the blank and work your imagination like looking at an abstract painting. I don't care for 'artsy' all that much unless I'm consuming something that enhances dopamine production in my brain; I wasn't, so my rating of the movie will only rank mediocre.
I have read some excellent reviews of this movie, preceding my own, which reviews eloquently make a case for how good and how bad this movie was. Dave Brown, played by Harrelson, is in a dark moment of his life and his job as a cop, makes it that more complicated; the movie is entirely focused on his tribulations, so you must be very open to study of the human nature for this movie to interest you. Had the movie ended tragically with his suicide, I would have a positive view of my experience, just as I would, had there been an ending with his family pulling for him and giving him hope. The abrupt ending instead gives it what I like to call an 'artsy' touch; you have to fill in the blank and work your imagination like looking at an abstract painting. I don't care for 'artsy' all that much unless I'm consuming something that enhances dopamine production in my brain; I wasn't, so my rating of the movie will only rank mediocre.