End of Watch

(JoBlo)

Roger Ebert
Move Over, Roger Ebert: Ex-LAPD Chief Bill Bratton on 'End of Watch' and Other Cop Dramas

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Did Spyderco pay to have product placement in the movie? JG's character advertises his Spyderco tactical knife, but I only caught a quick glimpse and did not see the trademark hole. Was it this knife, the Embassy, or this one, the Citadel? (Or a different one entirely?) (To be honest, when I first saw it I was thinking the knife resembled something by Kershaw or another company.)

And then there were the Oakley sunglasses. (Naturally!)

I saw this movie two Fridays ago, when it was first released. It is a movie that portrays LAPD in a good light, rather than a bad one. Documentary/found footage filming style is mixed in with other shots; it can be annoying at times. The big appeal of the movie? Law enforcement but also the fraternithy that exists between the two patrol officers at the center of the movie - Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Zavala (Michael Peña).

For me and probably many other men, it's a prime example of mass entertainment being on occasion of living vicariously. This explains the popularity of cop and war movies, TV shows, and the link - the fantasy of chasing bad guys, being a warrior, defending a friend or quasi-adopted brother.

It is a suitable contrast with another movie that is still playing in the theaters, The Expendables 2, which features various action stars of the '80s and '90s and is a throwback to the excesses of the action movie genre of those decades. Cartoon violence and over-the-top machismo is to be expected (though there is a concession to feminism in the form of Nan Yu. It may be a guilty pleasure for those who miss '80s actions movies, but I didn't appreciate it as such. I wanted more realistic action. (I will have to wait for Zero Dark Thirty.) It is hard to take Sylvester Stallone and a bunch of mostly old men walk around and shoot things up as mercenaries, and for me Expendables 2 was a waste of an hour and half of time.

I am hesitant about recommending End of Watch because I don't know if it is good enough to justify the time and money spent. It certainly would appeal to men, especially desk jockeys, who want to live like real men. The obvious coarseness in speech and use of profanity reminds us of the loss of refined civility in the younger generations, not just among the gangsters but also those in the police force. "It's in the nature of the job," one might say, referring to soldiers and the like, for men in such circumstances to be a bit rough around the edges. Even the patrol sergeant uses profanity.

Should profanity never be used? At least it should be limited, reserved for those occasions (or people) that warrant it, along with justified anger and scorn. In this liberal atomized collective, there is much to be angry about.

The female officers share in the coarseness of culture as well, perhaps to fit in and be like men, engaging in trash talk and displaying an air of toughness or false bravado, despite America Ferrera saying that this imitation isn't an aspect of women being in law enforcement. She lies, if we are to take her portrayal seriously.

She and her partner are both women - how often is it that female officers are doubled-up? Seems like a disaster waiting to happen, just like that incident in France. How decadent is a society when it doesn't take its defense seriously enough to put the best-suited to do that work, relying instead on those who overestimate themselves thanks to ideology, narcissism, and coddling?

I did see a pair of female police officers getting lunch in Brooklyn - they were both much shorter than me and rather overweight. (Members of minority ethnic groups as well.) Would a hardened criminal be unable to use force against them in order to escape?

*spoiler warning*

There is one female rookie, who is perceived by the two veteran female officers as not being cut out from the job - "She never would have made it past probation." The rookie ends up getting beaten by someone much bigger than her, after her partner is disabled with a knife (to the eye). She quits, handing her badge to the sergeant before she is taken away in an ambulance. She stands in opposition to the two veterans, who are cold, "without a soul." How many women are by disposition more like the rookie than the two veteran females? Why shouldn't the threat of violence and danger be used to weed out unsuitable candidates, both male and female, while they are in the academy, perhaps even before? While the movie seems to take the stand that women who can do the job should be hired to do it, it alludes to the reality that most women are not physically or psychologically capable.

The two veteran females are contrasted with the officers' wives (played by Natalie Martinez and Anna Kendrick), who are much more feminine. Still, even they engage in some candid raunch, with the wife giving "marital advice" to the newlywed. It's played for humor and the advice-giver is slightly drunk, but it is still embarrassing (as shown by the reaction of the advice-giver's husband) and reflects poorly on the character. (Her class background shouldn't be an excuse.)

I did think more about some of the other real-life issues that are featured in the story.

1. For example, the movie touches upon "black flight," with Mexican-Americans pushing blacks out of areas in Los Angeles that were formerly majority-black. How strong are the gangs in Los Angeles? Los Angeles may not be a bankrupt municipality yet, but if that happens, will we see some the rise of gangs as non-state entities providing services to the local populace?

While the Mexican cartels have not brought over their chilling and gruesome practices to the United States, is it likely that they will do so in the future? Will there be targeted assassination of law enforcement officers, judges, federal agents, and the like, especially if Mexico does become a failed state and the cartels gain the upper hand? What impact will the ending of the war in Mexico against drugs have on the violence there and the power of the cartels?

Mexico Dissolves Its FBI, Moves to Legalize Drugs

2. Is the wearing of a tiara for a teenager celebrating her quinceañera typical? Does it transform the coming-of-age ceremony into a celebration of the Latina princess mentality? I am reminded of the reality shows of teens celebrating their birthdays by spending a lot of money (their parents') on lavish parties in expensive settings and so on. Maybe an average quinceañera isn't so bad, but does the culture recognize the duties and responsibilities of adult women, including the necessity to make a wise choice in selecting a husband? Or is that just an afterthought? Is adulthood just some sort of independence characterized by conspicuous consumption? How much of feminism has infiltrated quinceañeras and Latino (or Mexican[-American]) culture in general?

3. If Anglo culture is rejected in favor of ghetto culture as a part of a separate identity, then how can there be "assimilation"? In times of prosperity two separate groups can exist peacefully with one another despite having very little interaction, but what happens in harsh times, when they have to compete with each other for necessities of life?

4. After Zavala saves two children from a burning house, he is chewed out by his wife: "Why are you willing to die for someone else's kid, when you're about to have one of your own?" Those who made the film might expect the audience to sympathize with the cop, because he's "serving the community" and doing his "duty," but her words deserve some consideration by those in law enforcement or thinking of going into law enforcement. Would the (single?) mom have paid him (or his family) back for the debt she owes him? Would she have provided support for his wife and child, if he had died trying to save her children? Probably not. How can there be community when people come and go, and have no sense of obligation to one another? Does his willingness to sacrifice himself for a stranger make sense when that stranger has no ties or obligations to him or to his family?



Trailer after the jump:




Apple

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