We’ve seen our share of cops vs. dirty/corrupt cops. It makes for a compelling thriller. Can anyone reinvent the wheel and come up with something original these days? The best one can hope for it when making a feature film is for the audience to have entertaining experience and that’s what they will get from watching Deon Taylor’s latest film, Black & Blue.
Starring Oscar nominated actress Naomie Harris (Moonlight), Tyrese Gibson, Frank Grillo, Beau Knapp and Nafessa Williams, Black & Blue is an action packed thriller that, while cliched in its storytelling, still brings in solid performances from its cast to make it a pleasurable treat for its genre fans.
Harris plays rookie cop Alicia West, who moves back home to New Orleans after serving overseas and the death of her mom. Right from the start she’s immediately flagged by cops while jogging with a hoodie under she’s shows them her badge and they know she’s blue like them. Still, it doesn’t stop one of them from saying, “You know how it goes” instead of an apology. When her partner Kevin (Reid Scott) wants some alone time with his wife and will have someone babysit their kids, West takes his place in partnering up with fellow officer Deacon Bacon on the night shift. Before they go out on patrol, she places her mandatory body camera on, which the vet Bacon doesn’t like already. Stopping be an abandoned building, Bacon tells her to stay in the car while he goes to see his CI. When shots are fired and heard, West stumbles upon seeing Bacon along with undercover officers Terry Malloy (Frank Grillo) and Smitty (Beau Knapp) cold-bloodedly murder a trio of their black informants.
Knowing she’s walked in on them and wearing the body cam, they shoot West, who falls down a shaft but manages to escape thanks to her bullet proof vest. Looking for help doesn’t come easy as no civilian wants to help a cop and Malloy quickly notifies all available units and her commanding officer that the rookie made a mistake in her call for backup, and that she’s the one who shot the three black men. One of those men happened to be related to notorious drug dealer Darius (Mike Colter), who wants his own justice and sends word to the neighborhood to find her.
With no cops on her side, and with locals and drug runners after her, West’s best option is an old, but not friends anymore Miles (Tyrese), who’s reluctant to get involved in anything regarding cops. He runs a liquor store and doesn’t want any trouble. When he agrees to help, he puts himself in the crossfire and now his life is on the line while West tries to find a way to upload the footage from the body cam to prove her innocence and save her own life.
The story is pretty simple as is, sort or by-the-books if you may. We have the usually rookie who wants to uphold justice but somehow her veteran partner is jaded and corrupt. She gets caught in the middle of something nefarious and now has to find a way to expose the truth or get killed in her efforts. The rest is predictable, BUT Deon makes Black and Blue worth watching.
Not oblivious to today’s climate, Taylor injects some racial themes throughout the film but doesn’t make it a sticking point.
Harris, who was Oscar nominated for Barry Jenkins’ Oscar winning film Moonlight, plays against type and is solid in her performance. She does her best to show that West is not some female cop weak enough to intimidate. She’s a war vet and her fighting skills in a couple of scenes show she’s just as good as the boys. From the Transformers and Fast & Furious films, Tyrese is no stranger to this action genre and plays his role modestly. Frank Grillo is so good at playing good and bad guy in these films lately, one may wonder if he phoned in his performance.
From the films Taylor has done lately include Traffik with Paula Patton and Intruder with Meagan Good and Michael Ealy, Black and Blue is probably his best commercial film to date. There’s no need for the audience to yell at the screen regarding the actions of the character. Here’s a film they will be rooting for and clapping by the time they leave the theater.
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