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Shockingly Brilliant
by Nicky (movies profile)
Apr 19, 2006
2
of
2 people found this review helpful
Wow. This movie was GOOD. The acting by the Eastern Europeans is at times a little ugh, but overall, very impressive. DeNiro is absolutely fantastic. The portrayal of the Eastern Europeans and the fight between the Chech (aka Russian hater) and the Russian is convincing, as is the Chech's weakness when it comes to dealing with another Chech (the hairdresser girl). There are a lot of viewer expectations and predictions that are cruelly and masterfully crushed by a series of shocking events. To those of us especially who have battled with justice - doing what's "right", but not always approved by the American system - will feel for our heroes especially (the Chech girl that gets deported, the fire marshall that loses his license after doing what he believes is right, etc.) The film is a sharp parody of the American justice system, where almost anyone can be aquitted of severe charges with a clever lawyer; it also well illustrates the perception of foreigners about America and its people. It touches on immigration laws (letting in terrorists/gangsters while deporting refugees) and on the influence of media, which can buy people with attractive paychecks (think paparazzi) while completely intruding on and often ruining other people's lives and reputation, including, in this case, putting your own family at stake. There is a great dialogue early in the movie between the chief, the fire marshall, and DeNiro's character; the latter two talk about their desire to catch the criminals, while their "boss" tells them that "Image is everything", and they don't need to worry about working hard as long as it...looks good. This is a wonderful portrayal of today's system's sad reality: everyone is only willing to move if they get paid, but not just if someone else's well-being is at stake or doing it out of heart or desire to sincerely help. We have all dealt with these flaws at one point or another, whether it was at work, school, or during some sort of incident. The fire truck's arrival after the marshall's apartment practically blows up is also a great demonstration of the lack of quality control in today's system, on which we rely and spend our tax dollars so heavily (this includes the underqualified English teachers who can't even spell, math teachers who can't add without a calculator, librarians who haven't heard of H.G. Wells, politicians who haven't heard of Chechoslovakia, police officers who can't figure out anything beyond putting a ticket on a car with an expired meter, an army soldier who backs out when he's actually called to duty, and many, many others. It makes us wonder - or does it? - why today's Bachelor's degrees barely equate to someone with a simple high school diploma some 30 years ago). It also reminds us of how low and empty our local news are, where any idiot off the street can suddenly become a "hero" in the eyes of the media and whose only achievement might be doing something stupid or committing a crime (this is well portrayed in the end, with the black men that was handcuffed by the marshall earlier in the plot, but it is also THE central theme of the movie, as its title suggests). There is much irony in the fact that both the main characters (DeNiro and his fiance) put each other's lives on the line, each while doing their own jobs with what they believe is integrity and a good cause (his is saving and protecting civilians, hers is informing them). In the end, their sincere pursuit of public service is tested by the flaws in a system they have vowed to protect. |
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