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Training Day
Warner Bros. // R // March 19, 2002
List Price: $26.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
THE STRAIGHT DOPE:
The trouble with mainstream movies is that they have to appeal to as many people as possible and, in the process of trying to create a marketable product, filmmakers often lose sight of some interesting ideas. Antoine Fuqua's Training Day purports to be a look at corruption in the world of law enforcement. It gives the audience a crooked cop, corrupt in every sense, from financial to spiritual, who displays all of the worst that we fear police capable of, and it gives us a surrogate for our own viewpoint, a smart, seemingly incorruptible rookie through whose eyes we view the streets. The film poses interesting questions and situations but ultimately it succumbs to some of its limitations. Denzel Washington plays Alonzo Harris, a veteran of the undercover narcotics division of the LAPD. The film makes numerous references to real life corruption scandals, but Harris seems to have the game all figured out. He knows which rules he can skirt and which he can obliterate. He has a vision of the streets almost as a self-cleaning gutter that washes away its own filth, occasionally with a little help from him and his pair of gleaming guns. Ethan Hawke plays Jake Hoyt, a young cop with a desire to join Harris' elite squad. He wants to do good but he also wants to play with the big boys and get a bit of the action.Both actors do fine work here and, even though Training Day doesn't always support them thematically, it's easy to see that these are the right actors for the parts. Washington reaches back, beyond all the Bone Collectors and Fallens to a time when he played characters with inner turmoil and emotional distress, like in his two finest performances: Glory and Malcolm X. His Harris, however, has come out of his struggles squarely on the "wrong" side. He's given in to the temptation to take the easy path every step of the way. Harris continuously does shockingly wrong things to Hoyt, but Hoyt keeps getting suckered back in, due to Harris' sleazy way of manipulating each situation into a come-on. Hawke's pretty much been a light-weight in his career so far, but here he draws on that, communicating the wide-eyed wonder he feels at his introduction to this other world. He accurately plays the shock and dismay of his idealistic character. Where the film falters is in it's distribution of responsibility. Training Day is in no way a successful indictment of corruption. By reducing all of the organizational malfeasance of big-city PDs down to one super-evil guy, Fuqua and screenwriter David Ayer let the rest of the department off the hook. Sure, some of the other cops aren't quite on the up and up, but Harris is the real menace. There is no sense that he represents anything other than his own interests and, as a rogue cop, he seems to be an aberration.It's also awkward that Harris had to be black. Don't get me wrong, it's ok to show a minority as a bad guy (the problem here isn't that the movie isn't "politically correct") and the film is thoughtful on how Harris' ethnicity helps him interact with the neighborhoods he patrols, but there is a sense that the filmmakers thought they could get away with more by making the bad guy a self-proclaimed "nigga." In fact, the repeated use of that word, used as a term of endearment as opposed to how Mark Furman might use it, is a key to the film's politics. Every time Hoyt follows Harris commands and does something wrong, like smoke dope, drink beer, or get violent, Harris rewards him by smiling and calling him "my nigga." This association by terminology doesn't help point the finger at corrupt white cops like Furman. It's hard to imagine a black cop slapping Furman on the back and calling him "my nigga." Training Day vividly paints a portrait of these two guys, but it is in no way a portrait of police corruption. Even Harris' motivations rob the film of some depth. Ultimately he scheme (and the entire film is his chess game) is financially motivated. Fuqua may like to think that Harris is like Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (a film with which Training Day shares more than just its initials) or Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now! (also a journey into the heart of darkness) but those characters are larger than life because they were motivated by deep inner goals and complex moral codes. They played according to rule books that, while not compatible with the daily lives of sane people, had their own consistent agendas. Harris pays a lot of lip service to "the way things are" and the morality of street justice, but ultimately he just wants a suitcase full of cash to get himself out of a fix. This is a cheap gimmick that the film would have been better off without. Instead the film becomes a live-action version of the game Grand Theft Auto 3: Drive around harassing different ethnic gangs while increasing your cash drawer. Films like The Glass Shield and Cop Land may be deeply flawed, but they have the sense to paint police corruption as pervasive, accepted elements of large departments. In those films when the outsider gets a look at the seedy side of law enforcement there is a real shock: This is how you guys do things? What Hoyt sees is one sociopath on a rampage. Keep in mind that the fact that this film raises any of these questions at all (even if it can't satisfactorily answer them) means it deserves some credit. Fuqua, a young director with a keen visual style, and Ayer, who has an ear for dialog and pacing, are talented. The problem here is that they are too interested in keeping it real (there is a lot of talk on the disc about the authenticity of the film) and not enough in the big picture. It's telling that the scene that rings the least true is one in which Harris meets with some department big wigs. They seem like cookie cutter suits speaking in cryptic "big man" dialog. This is the only type of situation in the film that Ayer and Fuqua would never have observed growing up on the streets and it shows. VIDEO:
The anamorphic video is excellent. Fuqua's style is heavily influenced by David Fincher and his stylized imagery (lifted straight from Fincher's Seven at times) helps sell the sophisticated, attractive world of Alonzo Harris. The transfer, as should be expected of such a new release, makes every nuance of Fuqua's film crystal clear. His use of colored filters, jarring camera angles, and disparate light sources helps create a world of crowded, complex visuals that leaves the casual visitor (like Hoyt and the audience) feeling disjointed. AUDIO:
The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack has all the bombast of a hip-hop heavy film. The bass rumbles at times while the dialog is clear and the sound effects crisp. The film is available in the original English as well as in French. English, French, and Spanish subtitles are also available. EXTRAS:
The list of extras looks like typical studio publicity, but is actually pretty interesting. The fifteen minute HBO "Making Of" documentary manages to fulfill the studio's EPK needs while still actually illuminate some of the filmmakers' motivations at the same time. Both Ayers and Fuqua speak eloquently about their visions and their inspirations. They know that Harris is a complex character and talk about his many contradictory aspects. Fuqua's feature length commentary covers this material as well. He speaks at length about his experiences on the street and how they shaped his views. He also talks about working with his actors in an honest and respectful way. This isn't typical boring commentary from a young filmmaker full of himself. Fuqua is an interesting guy with something to say. Given time he may prove to be an excellent filmmaker. A selection of additional scenes is included, including some that shine additional light on Harris' motivations. Since he ultimately is shown to be primarily interested in self-preservation, these scenes would have confused the film some, which may be why they were cut. Still, they paint a more complex portrait of the man and are welcome additions. An alternate (or really extended) ending is also included. It was cut for good reason: It is redundant and unrealistic. Two music videos (from Nelly and Pharoahe Monch) are included as well as some text screens. FINAL THOUGHTS:
A flawed, but interesting film, Training Day manages to build some suspense along the way to a disappointing ending. Still, even though it ends up overly simplified, it does deserve credit for trying to do something different. Email Gil Jawetz at [email protected]
The trouble with mainstream movies is that they have to appeal to as many people as possible and, in the process of trying to create a marketable product, filmmakers often lose sight of some interesting ideas. Antoine Fuqua's Training Day purports to be a look at corruption in the world of law enforcement. It gives the audience a crooked cop, corrupt in every sense, from financial to spiritual, who displays all of the worst that we fear police capable of, and it gives us a surrogate for our own viewpoint, a smart, seemingly incorruptible rookie through whose eyes we view the streets. The film poses interesting questions and situations but ultimately it succumbs to some of its limitations. Denzel Washington plays Alonzo Harris, a veteran of the undercover narcotics division of the LAPD. The film makes numerous references to real life corruption scandals, but Harris seems to have the game all figured out. He knows which rules he can skirt and which he can obliterate. He has a vision of the streets almost as a self-cleaning gutter that washes away its own filth, occasionally with a little help from him and his pair of gleaming guns. Ethan Hawke plays Jake Hoyt, a young cop with a desire to join Harris' elite squad. He wants to do good but he also wants to play with the big boys and get a bit of the action.Both actors do fine work here and, even though Training Day doesn't always support them thematically, it's easy to see that these are the right actors for the parts. Washington reaches back, beyond all the Bone Collectors and Fallens to a time when he played characters with inner turmoil and emotional distress, like in his two finest performances: Glory and Malcolm X. His Harris, however, has come out of his struggles squarely on the "wrong" side. He's given in to the temptation to take the easy path every step of the way. Harris continuously does shockingly wrong things to Hoyt, but Hoyt keeps getting suckered back in, due to Harris' sleazy way of manipulating each situation into a come-on. Hawke's pretty much been a light-weight in his career so far, but here he draws on that, communicating the wide-eyed wonder he feels at his introduction to this other world. He accurately plays the shock and dismay of his idealistic character. Where the film falters is in it's distribution of responsibility. Training Day is in no way a successful indictment of corruption. By reducing all of the organizational malfeasance of big-city PDs down to one super-evil guy, Fuqua and screenwriter David Ayer let the rest of the department off the hook. Sure, some of the other cops aren't quite on the up and up, but Harris is the real menace. There is no sense that he represents anything other than his own interests and, as a rogue cop, he seems to be an aberration.It's also awkward that Harris had to be black. Don't get me wrong, it's ok to show a minority as a bad guy (the problem here isn't that the movie isn't "politically correct") and the film is thoughtful on how Harris' ethnicity helps him interact with the neighborhoods he patrols, but there is a sense that the filmmakers thought they could get away with more by making the bad guy a self-proclaimed "nigga." In fact, the repeated use of that word, used as a term of endearment as opposed to how Mark Furman might use it, is a key to the film's politics. Every time Hoyt follows Harris commands and does something wrong, like smoke dope, drink beer, or get violent, Harris rewards him by smiling and calling him "my nigga." This association by terminology doesn't help point the finger at corrupt white cops like Furman. It's hard to imagine a black cop slapping Furman on the back and calling him "my nigga." Training Day vividly paints a portrait of these two guys, but it is in no way a portrait of police corruption. Even Harris' motivations rob the film of some depth. Ultimately he scheme (and the entire film is his chess game) is financially motivated. Fuqua may like to think that Harris is like Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (a film with which Training Day shares more than just its initials) or Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now! (also a journey into the heart of darkness) but those characters are larger than life because they were motivated by deep inner goals and complex moral codes. They played according to rule books that, while not compatible with the daily lives of sane people, had their own consistent agendas. Harris pays a lot of lip service to "the way things are" and the morality of street justice, but ultimately he just wants a suitcase full of cash to get himself out of a fix. This is a cheap gimmick that the film would have been better off without. Instead the film becomes a live-action version of the game Grand Theft Auto 3: Drive around harassing different ethnic gangs while increasing your cash drawer. Films like The Glass Shield and Cop Land may be deeply flawed, but they have the sense to paint police corruption as pervasive, accepted elements of large departments. In those films when the outsider gets a look at the seedy side of law enforcement there is a real shock: This is how you guys do things? What Hoyt sees is one sociopath on a rampage. Keep in mind that the fact that this film raises any of these questions at all (even if it can't satisfactorily answer them) means it deserves some credit. Fuqua, a young director with a keen visual style, and Ayer, who has an ear for dialog and pacing, are talented. The problem here is that they are too interested in keeping it real (there is a lot of talk on the disc about the authenticity of the film) and not enough in the big picture. It's telling that the scene that rings the least true is one in which Harris meets with some department big wigs. They seem like cookie cutter suits speaking in cryptic "big man" dialog. This is the only type of situation in the film that Ayer and Fuqua would never have observed growing up on the streets and it shows. VIDEO:
The anamorphic video is excellent. Fuqua's style is heavily influenced by David Fincher and his stylized imagery (lifted straight from Fincher's Seven at times) helps sell the sophisticated, attractive world of Alonzo Harris. The transfer, as should be expected of such a new release, makes every nuance of Fuqua's film crystal clear. His use of colored filters, jarring camera angles, and disparate light sources helps create a world of crowded, complex visuals that leaves the casual visitor (like Hoyt and the audience) feeling disjointed. AUDIO:
The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack has all the bombast of a hip-hop heavy film. The bass rumbles at times while the dialog is clear and the sound effects crisp. The film is available in the original English as well as in French. English, French, and Spanish subtitles are also available. EXTRAS:
The list of extras looks like typical studio publicity, but is actually pretty interesting. The fifteen minute HBO "Making Of" documentary manages to fulfill the studio's EPK needs while still actually illuminate some of the filmmakers' motivations at the same time. Both Ayers and Fuqua speak eloquently about their visions and their inspirations. They know that Harris is a complex character and talk about his many contradictory aspects. Fuqua's feature length commentary covers this material as well. He speaks at length about his experiences on the street and how they shaped his views. He also talks about working with his actors in an honest and respectful way. This isn't typical boring commentary from a young filmmaker full of himself. Fuqua is an interesting guy with something to say. Given time he may prove to be an excellent filmmaker. A selection of additional scenes is included, including some that shine additional light on Harris' motivations. Since he ultimately is shown to be primarily interested in self-preservation, these scenes would have confused the film some, which may be why they were cut. Still, they paint a more complex portrait of the man and are welcome additions. An alternate (or really extended) ending is also included. It was cut for good reason: It is redundant and unrealistic. Two music videos (from Nelly and Pharoahe Monch) are included as well as some text screens. FINAL THOUGHTS:
A flawed, but interesting film, Training Day manages to build some suspense along the way to a disappointing ending. Still, even though it ends up overly simplified, it does deserve credit for trying to do something different. Email Gil Jawetz at [email protected]
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