REVIEW: Rampart

Is man inherently evil? That is one of the questions I had while watching Rampart. What could drive a man so far off the edge? Dave Brown (Woody Harrelson) is a Vietnam veteran. His "brother" Terry (Ben Foster), or as Dave calls him "the general", also served in Vietnam. However Dave clearly was not affected by the Vietnam experience. He clearly acts the way he does now without any influence from the Vietnam war. It would be interesting to see what he was like during high school.The General clear suffers from shell-shock as well as alcoholism.

The film captures Los Angeles very well. Thanks to the film's great cinematography,  I could feel the hot L.A. summers flowing from the screen. The script written by director Oren Moverman and James Elroy is smart and feels well researched.

Rampart is based on the Rampart scandals of the late 90's. The story revolves around Dave Brown, a member of the LAPD. He is known amongst his fellow officers as "Date Rape" Dave because allegedly he murdered a known date rapist in order to serve him "street justice". One morning while on patrol another vehicle mistakenly crashes into his squad car. Dave exits the vehicle and walks towards the other vehicle. An unknown black male opens the door and slams Dave with it. The two have a short pursuit and Dave ends up tackling him to the floor. Dave proceeds to beat the man with a baton. Of course someone is around with a video camera and begins to record mid-beating.

Dave Brown and "the General".

The year is 1999, two years after the Rampart scandals began to surface so all the Los Angeles Police Department needs is another racist officer beating an unknown black male. The department wants Dave to leave but he never will because he argues he is only doing his job.

Initially Dave feels like the victim.  He makes the case that he has only brought hurt to those who hurt others  but yet his daughter proclaims that while that may be true on the streets, he has also hurt her and her family. Dave denies this. He does not view the world in the same fashion as the people around him do. Hurt can only be brought through physical violence in Dave's eyes. He fails to see the psychological implications of his actions. He has children by two sisters. The daughters are both sisters and first cousins. They all live in the same household because he feels as though he must keep the family unit together. It's as if Dave's character is from a different era. Hartshorn (Ned Beatty), a retired but still well connected police officer, proclaims "This isn't your dad's police force". If Dave were around then, he may have been rewarded for his street justice.

Some people argue that street justice is the only form of justice. They argue that our court systems are a joke and those of whom are put on trial never truly get rightful punishment. The film presents Dave in a way where you want to believe he is right, but that is until assistant District Attorney Joan Confrey(Sigourney Weaver) reveals the fate of one of Dave's victims. The date rapist may have deserved the punishment, however his wife and daughters did not. Again Dave fails to see the harm his actions truly do. The children were raised in foster homes and were sexually molested by their foster parents. The wife had such a major breakdown that she was placed in an asylum and ended up committing suicide with a dull razor blade.

By the end of Rampart I found this answer: Man is not inherently evil, but people like Dave Brown exist, a man who is inherently evil.

3.5/4 Muffins