END OF WATCH (2012)

It wouldn’t be exaggeration to call it one of the best cop film of recent time and it was written & directed by David Ayer, who gave us ‘Training Day’ and ‘Harsh Times’- absorbing American street crime cinema. It’s not all your hero police cop film, the two men here are working class men on traffic duty to watch the street. They are tough cops putting their own lives in peril but crimes are challenging for their mental and physical resistance and control. “One day LAPD is going to bend you over your black and white…and they are going to fuck you up the ass. Bad guys attack from up front…the department comes in from rear,” advised their anger on nose senior. They got their bravery medals, they have their normal family life but one messy affair of their routine raid puts their lives on peril. They messed with the notorious cartel and they’re after them now. 

Unlike other cop films, the film here is shot in documentary style showing us the POV of two leads where digital camera clipped on their uniforms. The plot is too episodic for film but it vehemently portrayed certain gruesome scene of crimes and represent the blunt, dark and seedy side of LA’s crime underbelly of dope, money, human trafficking and guns in ghetto of Black and Hispanic ethnicity. But the high point of the film is fine camaraderie between the lead played by Jack Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena. Excluding many stretching and emotional sequence, they’re the pair hard to resist here. There’s thin line between what they’re supposed to do and don’t but their bonding is something else. If for nothing else watch it for their stellar performances and chemistry.

Ratings-7.5/10