Woody Harrelson and director Oren Moverman get back together in “Rampart,” which opened Feb. 10. (Photo courtesy of Lightstream Pictures)
When actor Woody Harrelson and director Oren Moverman work together, the results are typically nothing short of awesome.
The cinematic duo’s last project, “The Messenger,” recieved mass critical accliam as it made its way to two Oscar nominations.
The perfect pair are at it again with “Rampart,” a psychlogical cop thriller that goes beyond the badge and bullet and gives its audinece a glimpse into the inner-workings of a corrupt cop’s mind.
Harrelson plays L.A. cop David Douglas Brown.
Moverman, who wrote the film’s script, constructs Brown in such a way that makes Harrelson’s character come off as slimy.
Breaking free of the restraints of typical cop thrillers, “Rampart” features a lead that you aren’t supposed to root for.
With such a wicked character on paper, it’s hard to imagine anyone but Harrelson playing the film’s lead.
Harrelson digs himself into the trenches of his character and by doing so delivers one of the best performances of his career.
However, “Rampart” would be nothing if it wasn’t for Moverman’s direction
Moverman paces his film with intensity as he jumps from scene to scene, giving the audience more evidence to hate the main character.
“Rampart” has a host of phenomenal supporting characters that act as turbines, propelling the movie deeper into its downward spiral.
The standout of the supporting cast comes from Sigourney Weaver. Weaver plays a tough DA who is tapped into Brown’s corruption and is doing everything in her powers to stop him.
Despite the overt darkness of the movie, “Rampart” is surprisingly fresh.
Moverman does a fine job stripping “Rampart” of typical cop-thriller cliches and crafting a story that is in a genre of its own.
“Rampart” seems fresh as it challenges its audience to question their definitions of evil and corruption.
While the film may have some flaws in its pacing and scene selection, as a whole, “Rampart” is a thrilling 108 minutes.
