Edward Norton should really consider making more movies. In fact, I wouldn't be all that opposed to him being in every movie ever made. If it prevents me from having to watch another lame Vin Diesel or Brendan Fraser action picture, why not? Norton does action and drama so much better than almost anyone.
Then again, seeing Norton all the time might make us take the talented, versatile actor for granted, a fate that would be more of a shame than only seeing him once every couple of years.
Take "Pride and Glory," for example. This gritty, intense cop movie pairing Norton with perennial bad boy Colin Farrell as police officers in New York City's tough 31st precinct has not received enough attention for what it brings to the table. In fact, I'd guess that most potential viewers have not heard anything about it.
And that's too bad, because it's the most entertaining cop movie since 2003's "Mystic River," and the hardest-hitting one since Denzel Washington re-invented the crooked cop role in 2001's "Training Day."
Norton is Ray Tierney, a cop who's spent the past several years on the missing persons desk of the NYPD, off the streets where his brother, Francis Tierney Jr. (Noah Emmerich), their father, Francis Sr. (Jon Voight) and brother-in-law, Jimmy Eagan (Farrell) are kicking butt and taking names. We get the hint that something bad went down to sour Ray on the street beat, something that literally scarred him for life (he's got a nasty-looking slash mark on his left cheek), but we don't know exactly what it was.
Drawn back to the street force by his controlling father, Ray finds plenty of bad stuff still going on in the streets of New York, not all of which is perpetuated by the "bad guys."
Farrell, playing a tough, gravel-voiced, Irish (sound familiar?) Sgt. Eagan, is as bad as anyone he puts in handcuffs. Along with his crew of crooked cronies, Eagan regularly destroys evidence, takes money from drug dealers, beats up convenience store clerks and threatens violence on children to get as much dirty money as he can get.
It's a good role for Farrell, perhaps because it's not that hard to imagine the bad-boy actor being like this in real life — minus the violence against children thing, perhaps.
As Ray begins to uncover some of the corruption and scandal that exists among New York's finest, lines between cops and brothers begin to be blurred. With whom should one's loyalties lie?
When Fran Sr. suggests Ray show some loyalty to his brothers in blue uniforms, Ray blows up. "Don't use that word with me," he tells his father. We discover how this brand of loyalty has shaped Ray's life, and see why he may not be willing to fall victim to it again.
Like "Training Day" before it, "Pride and Glory" shows fictional cops doing some things you'd hope real ones never even think about doing. Like "Mystic River," it also takes a look at how the ties of family and relationships can bind us tighter than the written word of the law. Unlike "Mystic," however, "Pride and Glory" foregoes the slow, simmering buildup of tension, preferring instead to keep the blood pumping at an unhealthy level — it would be like if that uncomfortable scene at the end of "Mystic" when Sean Penn does in Tim Robbins by the water's edge were extended for a full two hours.
At the center of "Pride and Glory," of course, is Norton, who skillfully straddles the line between Good Samaritan cop and the tough-guy nemesis of Farrell. It's among his best work, up there with his performances in "American History X" and "Fight Club."
"Pride and Glory" is not particularly deep or complex, but it does make for an entertaining, sometimes exhilerating viewing experience. If you felt like you should have liked HBO's critically praised "The Wire" but found it a bit slow, this may be your movie.
Yes, I could definitely think of a lot of worse things than Edward Norton appearing in a lot more movies.
As long as he promises to never do a "Death to Smoochy" sequel, I could live with it.
Joel Sensenig is news editor of the Review Times.