Rampart

A mid-life crisis. Difficulty dealing with his fractured family life. Residual trauma stemming from the Vietnam War. Racism and alcoholism. General job burnout. All of these and other factors likely contribute to the troubled mental state of the corrupt cop in Rampart, although to the film’s credit it’s never made perfectly clear.

The film is a complex and compelling character study that treads some familiar cop-on-the-edge territory yet succeeds thanks to a gritty script and a haunting performance by Woody Harrelson.

Harrelson plays Dave Brown, a grizzled LAPD detective who doesn’t care much for traditional procedure when it comes to making an arrest. He’s perfectly willing to cut personal deals with suspected thugs and drug dealers, then turn around a beat them with his nightstick or worse. When questioned by his superiors about his actions, the slick-talking and highly educated Brown never accepts blame and always seems to escape reprimand due to a plausible excuse.

At home, he’s the father of two daughters, each born to different sisters, and he has an uneasy relationship with all of them. That frustration helps to fuel his anger as he hits the streets looking for reasons to dole out more excessive punishment.

Eventually, however, Brown’s reckless tactics threaten the department when one of his arrests is caught on camera and draws media attention just as the department is facing a corruption scandal and looking for a scapegoat.

The film is the second collaboration between Harrelson and director Oren Moverman (The Messenger), who co-wrote the script with acclaimed L.A. Confidential novelist James Ellroy.

It’s an unsettling film, which certainly is their intent, with Harrelson exploring the psychology of his character by superbly mixing outward swagger and carefree bravado with a masked vulnerability stemming from his many personal demons. It’s a bold performance that showcases him in almost every frame.

The supporting cast is sharp, and Moverman tries to ratchet up the suspense with a visual style that includes hand-held cameras and a washed-out color palette.

Outside of the central performance, however, the film struggles to maintain its focus, either careening between irrelevant subplots or simply repeating another episode of Brown’s descent into madness. It also doesn’t sufficiently place into context the LAPD’s reaction to his behavior or how his actions affect the department as a whole.

Still, Rampart is often exhilarating because of a lead character and portrayal overflowing with volatility and rage.

Rated R, 108 minutes.