IronWatcher’s review published on Letterboxd:
Watched on Blu-Ray
Based on a short story by James Ellroy, "Dark Blue" focuses on a dark chapter of the city of Los Angeles and on a problem that only a few years ago was once again in the headlines in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. Like the original, Ellroy and David Ayer's script shows incidents like the one involving Rodney King not as an isolated case, but as a symptom of a system that has deeply corrupt and also racist elements in its own ranks. "Dark Blue" is therefore a film that unfortunately still seems very topical, even if the temporal background of the story is in the 90s. It is a film that shows a bleak picture of the state apparatus' involvement with crime and highlights the problem of impoverishment and the racism that still festers.
Similar to the attack on Rodney King, the robbery shown in the film is more than just a crime, but always threatens to disappear against the backdrop of a much larger complex, which is revealed to the viewer. Bobby (Scott Speedman) is the only one who cannot see the hierarchy of the police, and only after a while does the true dimension of such a crime reveal itself to him, because the real masterminds are not in the partly dilapidated houses in South Central, but in the top echelons of the police. When, at the beginning of the film, Bobby joins Van Meter (Brendan Gleeson) and Perry (Kurt Russell) in a room to celebrate the questioning that has just taken place about a shooting, it soon becomes clear that not only have three generations of police officers gathered here, but Perry and Van Meter are also concerned with the legacy of that corruption and lack of morals that forms the foundation of their profession and thus behind their salaries.
Only fire, it seems, can cleanse the city, which almost gives a metaphorical moment to the race riots that followed the acquittal of King's attackers. Perry seems almost prophetic when he talks about the city burning should the acquittal happen, a diagnosis based on his experience and knowledge of the problem neighbourhoods. Then again, one wonders to what extent he does not wish for such a cleansing.
In his career Kurt Russell has played many roles and has received many honours for his performances, but the fact that his performance in Ron Shelton's film did not attract any acting award nominations is a scandal. Perry is one of those policemen who have sunk so deep into the swamp of corruption and immorality that they have already accepted it as normality. Always striving to be a "soldier" and a "team player", as he preaches to Billy again and again, he carries out orders, even if something inside him still rebels against his actions.
Privately, in the few scenes with his wife, he seems out of place, like a guest who drops by once in a while, only to disappear again after a short while. Russell plays Perry as a man who has reached a point where his actions threaten to break him emotionally.
IronWatcher liked these reviews
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_4fee9e8f-b322-47e5-9b64-011062c4187d" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-4fee9e8f-b322-47e5-9b64-011062c4187d'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div -tile300x250 -alignleft -bottommargin'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'med_rect_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-4fee9e8f-b322-47e5-9b64-011062c4187d'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-4fee9e8f-b322-47e5-9b64-011062c4187d'));
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_373fb7c7-509e-4524-bf59-11f590ca0bdb" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-373fb7c7-509e-4524-bf59-11f590ca0bdb'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'sky_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-373fb7c7-509e-4524-bf59-11f590ca0bdb'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-373fb7c7-509e-4524-bf59-11f590ca0bdb'));
