COP LAND

Finally one of Stallone's tortured characters gets to use his head in a classy, understated drama.

Nearly ten years before James Mangold rocked our world with Walk the Line, he gave Sylvester Stallone the opportunity to be taken seriously in Cop Land. Sly packed on 40 pounds and took an enormous pay cut for his role as the paunchy Sheriff Freddy Heflin, but the end result is well worth it. Finally one of Stallone's tortured characters gets to use his head in a classy, understated drama.

Freddy always dreamed of being a New York City cop, but his hopes were dashed when he shattered his eardrum while saving the life of Liz Randone (Annabella Sciorra). Instead, he became the county sheriff in a suburb of New Jersey almost entirely populated by city cops. They've created a nice little Cop Land for themselves—a Napoleon Dynamite kind of world where they can do whatever they feel like they wanna do, gosh! Freddy is written off a wash-up who does what it takes to get along, and the city cops never hesitate to rub it in—"Too bad about your ear... Too bad you didn't get the girl... Too bad you'll never be a real cop—just a schmo county sheriff for us to walk on. Ha-ha."

After crashing his car into a tree, Freddy attempts to maintain a level of authority while sporting a broken nose. He has a hangdog look about him, and though he's often treated like a dog, Freddy's always watching, and he's starting to see things. Figgs (Ray Liotta) has a connection on the bomb squad, and his house just blew up with his wife inside. They also just had a funeral for Superboy Babitch (Michael Rapaport), but he's been partying like it's 1999 at the home of Rose and Ray Donlan (Cathy Moriarty and Harvey Keitel). When Lieutenant Mo Tilden of Internal Affairs (Robert DeNiro) rolls into town, Freddy must decide whether to take a stand or be a doormat for the rest of his life.

Though he's still reluctant to incriminate the residents of Cop Land, the situation is starting to eat at Freddy. He takes some comfort in Liz Randone, whom he guards like a watchful old dog, but she's married to an immature, alcoholic half-wit (Peter Berg). Though she feels indebted to Freddy, and perhaps even pities him, she will never return the love Freddy feels for her. Argh! Why do women in movies always marry the first dumb-ass they can find when a perfectly lovely man is standing on the sidelines just waiting to die for her? It's like an unwritten rule - you always marry the good guy. And now that I've written it down, it's a written rule, so there! Though he's not fit to marry, Liz has no trouble turning to Freddy when her husband gets out of control. During a tender moment between them, you can see how love-starved and lonely Freddy is. All of his dreams have been taken from him, and he's resigned himself to the fact that he cannot ask for more.

By the time Freddy gathers the courage to help Lieutenant Tilden, his window of opportunity has closed. He must then take matters into his own hands in a stunning showdown against the cops. After one of them fires a gun inches from his good ear, he faces them bleeding, disoriented, and almost completely deaf. Sylvester has said that he played Freddy like a human turtle, but the dog metaphor held true for me. He reminded me of Old Yeller in this crucial scene—kind of damaged and sad, but still a formidable contender. Figgs has a last minute attack of conscience, and comes to Freddy's aid at just the right moment. Finally justice prevails, though I still can't figure out why no one offers to take Freddy to the hospital when he's clearly just been through hell and has blood streaming out of his ear. He may have to wait all day for medical care, but at last Freddy can walk tall and be proud of his work.

I'm not sure what it is that makes Cop Land so poetic, but there's something beautiful about Freddy's goodness and vulnerability in contrast to the corrupt, hard-edged world around him. Without his perfectly sculpted muscles and sheer physical power, it's easier to appreciate Stallone's range as an actor.  There's a reason Rocky took the 1976 Oscars by storm, and it has everything to do with Sly.