Training Day
dir. Antoine Fugua
Opens Fri Oct 5
Various
I usually love Denzel Washington, but watching his movies is like watching the same movie again and again. He’s always Mr. Nice Normal Police Man, Mr. Righteous Political Activist, or Mr. Family Man–all variation on the American superhero theme. But in Training Day, Denzel manages to pull off a departure from his usually wholesome-guy image and the movie goes from what could have been just another formulaic action flick, to something actually kind of good.
Here’s the plot: The very hot, but vapid Ethan Hawke is a scrappy, white rookie cop, but wants to be a big bad narcotics officer in LA. So he gets sent for training with Denzel, who’s the sage narcotics officer in Los Angeles, and the entire movie takes place in that one day. (The movie is actually shot in some rough neighborhoods of LA. This makes it a lot more legit.)
As soon as Ethan walks out the door, leaving his lovely young wife and kid behind, he discovers that Denzel has abandoned all the rules of policing, and does things like smoke pot, get laid, and buy drugs on the job. He also does some occasional busting of bad guys, so you get the feeling he’s not totally corrupt.
Denzel’s performance is abrasive and intimidating, and at first Ethan submits like a small, crying puppy. The challenge then, for the viewer and for Ethan, is figuring out whether or not Denzel has taken things too far. Is he a good cop breaking the rules in the name of justice? Or is he just so old and cynical that he’s given up and sold out? Or wait, does he have another motive altogether? Denzel’s performance keeps you asking this question, and though the movie doesn’t have much depth beyond that point, just trying to figure it out will probably keep you engaged.