Review: Broken City

Review: Broken City

Broken City is an intriguing political thriller which sees a shamed ex-cop turned private investigator, Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg) hired by the city's slimy Mayor Hostetler (Russell Crowe) to investigate the suspicion that his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is cheating on him. 

However, Taggart (pun intended, surely?) unwittingly uncovers a conspiracy on a city-wide scale that tangles him in a web of back room deals, lies and consistently ominous dialogue such as "This isn't what you think it is," and "Everything is not as it seems."

Mark Wahlberg's usual brand of under-stated acting works about 90% of the time - unfortunately, Broken City falls into the 10%. With Russell Crowe giving it his all as the city's corrupt mayor, it's tough to feel that Broken City isn't missing a leading man for us to route for. Strangely, despite some decent scenes where Taggart's dark past is revealed, Wahlberg's performance simply falls flat opposite Crowe. 

Still, where the acting fails the narrative (mostly) succeeds. Broken City's tale of corruption and deceit in a city about to face election day is gripping, particularly where the politics are concerned. As Taggart  searches for answers regarding the mayor's wife, a fierce public campaign is raging and, despite Mayor Hostetler's numbers "holding steady", his willingness to do whatever it takes (murder is not out of the question) to win votes allows for some gasp-out-loud twists in the tale.

Other side-plots involving Taggart's girlfriend pursuing an acting career are less exciting however, and the vast majority of the scenes are pointless to the central story. Another iffy chunk of the running time is skewered by Taggart's wobbly on/off drinking problem - unoriginal and clichéd, this only attempts to add some more emotional realism to the story but with the reveal of Taggart's past and the affair regarding the Mayor's wife, the film is already fit to burst with intriguing plot points. Sometimes less is more.

On the plus side, Broken City boasts a witty script that manages to shove in plenty of fantastic one-liners ("Ha, nobody gets that," replies Hostetler when asked for justice) and its cinematography is great; from the ominous opening sequence featuring Wahlberg with a smoking gun to the stunning aerial shots of New York city, Broken City visually impresses with its gritty tone.

Yet good looks can't distract from the bold truth, which is that this particular political thriller is simply a hybrid of every other cop-politician movie out there. It wants to be taken seriously - so seriously that any fun that could have been had has been deleted from the narrative in favour of constant doom and gloom. The action only particularly ramps up during a short but sweet car chase, and when it's over we're left with a bitter realisation that this movie, however intelligent, is all work and no play.

Summary

For all its intrigue, scheming and twists, Broken City fails to be much more than a by-the-numbers drama. The narrative is interesting but a little convoluted, with some easily forgotten plot strands failing to raise any excitement, and opposite a fantastic performance from Russell Crowe, Mark Wahlberg seems to retreat into a bland shell, failing to give our protagonist a sense of urgency or heroism that is required in  a movie of this genre. Still, the political themes are explored brilliantly and reflect well on today's world - it's just a shame that Broken City suffers from a mix of broken clichés.

5/10 - Mediocre

See it if you liked: Enemy Of The State (1998), Frost/Nixon (2008), The Town (2010)