Pride and Glory is a 2008 crime drama film directed by Gavin O'Connor. It stars Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight, and Noah Emmerich. The film was released on October 24, 2008, in the United States.
Assistant Chief Francis Tierney (Jon Voight) is the head of a multigenerational police family, which includes his sons Francis, Jr. (Noah Emmerich), Ray (Edward Norton), and his son-in-law Jimmy Egan (Colin Farrell) all being police officers. When four of Francis Jr.'s officers are killed during a shootout turned bad, everything looks straight initially. However, Ray, who is assigned to the investigation, soon discovers something more sinister.
Plot
Jimmy Egan (Colin Farrell) leads the New York City Police Department to victory in police-league football. While everybody is celebrating, Francis "Franny'" Tierney Jr. (Noah Emmerich), Jimmy's brother-in-law and superior officer, answers his phone to find out that several men from their unit have been killed during a failed drug bust of a local gang leader, Angel Tezo.
Jimmy, Kenny Dugan (Shea Whigham), Reuben Santiago (John Ortiz) and Eddie Carbone (Frank Grillo) meet at the abandoned getaway cab containing the dead cab driver. These four officers are part of a corrupt gang of NYPD police led by Jimmy. Under his direction, they burn the cab and dead driver, and set about finding Tezo before Ray and the task force do.
Later, Franny confronts officer Reuben "Sandy" Santiago with the disturbing discovery. He admits to what he did and expresses surprise when Franny claims he never knew what was going on with the officers in his unit. Santiago tells Franny the incident took place because they wanted to kill Tezo so they could work with another dealer, Casado, but that Santiago warned Tezo due to a childhood friendship, believing Tezo would simply flee and not thinking the police would be in danger. Franny tells Santiago to hand over his badge.
Ray confronts Jimmy at the bar. They fight, and Ray emerges victorious. When Ray is walking a handcuffed Jimmy to his cruiser, the crowd surrounds them looking for vigilante justice. Jimmy asks Ray to uncuff him and give him back his gun, but Ray refuses. Jimmy offers himself to Tezo's cousin to be beaten to death, while the mob holds Ray back. Ray staggers away from the mob and his dead brother-in-law, to the defused hostage scene at the liquor store. Francis Jr. and Ray get in a cruiser and drive off.
Cast
- Edward Norton as Ray Tierney
- Colin Farrell as Jimmy Egan
- Jon Voight as Francis Tierney Sr. Nick Nolte was originally cast in the role, but after a chronic knee injury became too severe, he was unable to perform and was replaced by Voight.
- Noah Emmerich as Francis Tierney Jr. Emmerich had previously starred in Gavin O'Connor's Tumbleweeds and Miracle.
The film also features Shea Whigham; Frank Grillo and John Ortiz as police officers; Manny Perez; Lake Bell; Rick Gonzalez; Christina Cabot, Jennifer Ehle as Francis' wife, Abby, and Declan Quinn. Quinn said the biggest challenge was "[trying] to find a fresh way to do a police drama where it feels real and not like something we've seen a hundred times before."
Production
Gavin O'Connor and his twin brother Greg began writing the film with New York City police officer Robert A. Hopes in 1999, after the completion of Tumbleweeds. The brothers, whose father was a police officer, were given "rare" access to the police department and its officers. Gavin O'Connor described their intent: "My father was a New York City detective, and I grew up in that world. It's a birthday bash of honest cops, which was everything my father was about. Though it is fictional, it is an homage to my father." They also hoped to create a film which evoked those of the 1970s, using corruption in the police force, as a metaphor for wider institutional corruption. The script was optioned in June 2000 by Fine Line Features, a subdivision of New Line Cinema, and Joe Carnahan was hired to rewrite the script. Production on the film was expected to begin later in 2000, with Gavin O'Connor directing and Greg O'Connor producing.
In 2001, the project was subject to a turnaround deal, which saw the rights ceded to Intermedia. Production was expected to start in February 2002 in New York City, and Mark Wahlberg and Hugh Jackman were in talks to star. The film's development was subject to further delays until 2005. Carnahan cited the September 11, 2001 attacks as the primary reason for the delay: "There was a moment after 9/11, where the notion of doing what might be deemed an anti-cop film, particularly an attack of the NYPD, would be grounds for hanging."
In September 2005, the rights were once more with New Line Cinema. Production president Toby Emmerich had been a fan of the script for several years, and the studio entered negotiations with Norton, Farrell and Emmerich to star. Production was set to begin in New York City in January 2006, though principal photography did not begin until the following month.
Cinematographer Declan Quinn said that the biggest challenge was "[trying] to find a fresh way to do a police drama where it feels real and not like something we've seen a hundred times before."
Release
Pride and Glory was originally scheduled for release on March 14, 2008, and trailers for the film appeared, with showings of No Country for Old Men, Atonement, and American Gangster. In January 2008, New Line announced that it was pushing back the release until 2009, citing both Norton and Farrell's 2008 releases of The Incredible Hulk, and In Bruges respectively. The studio has not commented further on the delay, which angered O'Connor. He blamed internal New Line politics for the delay, specifically chairman Bob Shaye, saying, "I don't think [Shaye] believes in it, and he's decided he'll only release [sure bet] films. He never had the decency to call me." O'Connor has said he will withhold delivery of his next script for New Line, Warrior, until he discovered the film's fate, and also looked at the possibility of taking the film to another studio. In February 2008, O'Connor held a screening at the headquarters of talent agency CAA, in order to publicize that the film may need a new distributor.
O'Connor said of the situation, "We've delivered something special and unique, a film that's not for everybody but has something to say. We're all heartbroken." Norton blamed a wider industry "paralysis" for the problems, rather than New Line Cinema: "We're a victim of the moment, and I just hope they will either find a way to give the film its due or graciously let us do it with someone else." Farrell said he believed in the film and called the situation "bizarre".
Reception
Critical reaction
The film was eventually released on October 24, 2008 in United States. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 35% percent of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 140 reviews, with the critical consensus being that the film is "Formulaic in its plotting and clichéd in its dialogue, Pride and Glory did little to distinguish itself from other police procedurals." The film was also accused of racism for its portrayal of Dominican Americans.
Box office
As of January 28, 2009, the film has grossed $43,440,721 worldwide. In North America, the film opened at #5 with $6,262,396 behind High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Saw V, Max Payne, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua, respectively, from 2,585 theaters with a $2,423 average.
Soundtrack
The film's original score was composed by Mark Isham.
References
External links
- Official website
- Pride and Glory at the Internet Movie Database
- Pride and Glory at Rotten Tomatoes
- Pride and Glory at AllMovie
- Pride and Glory at Box Office Mojo