From the first trailer I saw for Pride and Glory, I knew this was a movie I would catch at the theater. Maybe it was the fact that Jon Voight, Colin Farrell and especially Edward Norton appeared as central characters. But it might have been that my curiousity was piqued by the suggestion that a family member might have to cross the Thin Blue Line against his own brother. The trailers gave this film an epic feel that played out the same way in totality. This film delivered everything I expected making it another great film for 2008.

Pride and Glory takes a name that plays on the pro-American Patriotic sensibilities of middle America. It is a very generic name that will probably keep movie goers away. That is unfortunate. A bit more creativity in naming this film might have done it more justice. Something that played off the family theme might have suggested the major elements of this film. It's amazing how much injustice a poorly named film can cause. I almost missed this film when looking up the new releases for the weekend by name. Once I clicked on the link, I immediately realized this was one that I wanted to see.

Pride and Glory tells the story of a police family. It is not uncommon for this profession to get handed down from one generation to the next. Jon Voight is a wheel in the Police Department...forty-one years given to the NYPD. His character, Francis Tierney Sr. has two sons who have followed in his footsteps. Franics Tierney Jr. (Noah Emmerich) is a Captain in the 31st Precinct. The other son, Ray Tierney (Edward Norton), has been voluntarily reassigned to the Missing Persons bureau where he has been hiding for two years since an incident involving police brutality which caused him to lie to the Internal Affairs Bureau. Tierney also has a daughter, Megan Egan (Lake Bell) who is married to one of Captain Tierney's Sergeants, Jimmy Egan (Colin Farrell). The 31st Precinct has gained a reputation for crime down and collars up...but the reputation in the community isn't as positive. Constant shake-downs and police corruption plague the community and have ired regular citizens as well as the criminal element. Francis Tierney Sr. talks his son ray into reassigning from Missing Persons to the Task Force investigating the homicide of four officers in the 31st Precinct. Guys that Ray once worked with. Ray reluctantly agrees and finds himself exorcising his own demons as he realizes that the homicide is pointing toward corruption within his brothers command. Unsure of the level to which this corruption reaches, Ray confronts his brother Franny, who lies to him. The tension in the family creates a family dynamic combined with the law enforcement concept of having each other's back. Ray finds himself in a quandry, trying to decide whether to take the easy way out or whether to follow his heart.

The writing in this film was excellent. There were a few scenes that required a bit of leeway in order to allow events to unfold in the manner that the writers wanted. One such scene has Ray clearing a building following shots fired. That just doesn't seem reasonable. However, the story as a whole delivered a great deal of credibility. The characters were believable and possessed an array of qualities that made them seem human. The human element was carefully crafted into this story which could easily have slipped completely into the police realm. The dialogue was interesting, combining enough police jargon with normal conversation to create a balance. The sub-plots worked together well to lead to an acceptable ending that didn't make you feel cheated. I remember thinking at one point that there was no way they could create a happy ending to the film. The ending wasn't necessarily a happy ending, but it tied up loose ends, which I liked. The combination of strong dialogue, interesting plot lines and character development demonstrated strong writing by Joe Carnahan and Gavin O'Connor.

This film was well cast. In spite what I have read elsewhere, I think Jon Voight is brilliant. All actors end up doing stuff they regret, but I personally like Voight. He was exceptional in this film, creating a tough connected father who has the ability to make things right when they are wrong. His character has many positive attributes combined with a drinking problem that makes him human. Voight was excellent, yet paled in comparison to Edward Norton, who was spectacular. Norton has a gritty quality about him that allows him to be subtle without seeming vulnerable. His performance was stunning, as he carried this film with seemingly little effort. Colin Farrell delivered a strong supporting performance, but it is not difficult for me to picture Farrell in an antagonistic role. He was well cast as a cop with issues. Noah Emmerich displayed a bit more of the family qualities in this film and provided an excellent balance of Police Captain, husband and father. His performance kept me guessing regarding his involvement. There were many other cast members who delivered strong supporting performances, but the most notable are mentioned here. As a whole, outstanding job by the cast in delivering on a strong script.

Pride and Glory was rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America. I would not have had a problem taking my nine-year-old to see this film, which I did not. The rating was based primarily on the violence which included several shootings, a suicide and some graphic torture and a threatened iron on a baby's face. The violence was prevalent, but the gore factor was kept reasonably low. The language in this film is gritty but delivered in context. There is plenty of objectionable language but it added credibility rather than seeming gratuitous. The age cutoff for this film depends on what type of exposure you allow your kids...if they play violent video games, then they can easily handle this.

I enjoyed Pride and Glory and will be giving it the first five star rating here at Epinions. I thought that everything was well researched in this film. The police actions seemed believable for the most part, although there were a couple of minor exceptions. Those exceptions were required to deliver the plot line and would be missed by most viewers anyway. The acting, writing, and cinematography had an epic feel which should put this film on solid footing for an award. As mentioned, I would give this exceptional film the full five stars out of a possible five.

This review qualifies for and is submitted as part of CaptainD's Good Movies Write Off 2.