Homicide
In a world of extremes, prolific playwright David Mamet subtly depicts the alienating nature of normality; as NYPD detective Bobby Gold (an excellent Joe Mantegna) struggles with his heritage whilst working on a big murder case to catch an elusive cop killer. A non-practising Jew and amiable everyman, Gold is too Jewish for Gentiles and not Jewish enough for the Jews; taken off the cop killer case and ordered to investigate the murder of an elderly Jewish shopkeeper with a murky past. Gold finds the victim's "relatives" arrogant and overbearing, wandering reminders of why he became disillusioned with Judaism to begin with. Gold also resents the fact that he's been re-assigned at the behest of his co-religionists: "I'm not his people", exclaims Gold. Eventually intrigued by the case, he delves deeper into a sinister underworld populated by untrustworthy stooges and violent fanatics: Gold tracks down a bunch of Israelis who're up to no good, they aggressively question his loyalty to the tribe and he's soon embroiled in a conspiracy that could cost him his job and even his life.
William H. Macy co-stars as officer Tim Sullivan, Gold's partner and a pragmatic cop who has to contend with his colleague's increasingly irrational outlook on the idea of anti-Semitic persecution. Only actors of Mantegna and Macy's calibre could have accurately portrayed the finer points of how ideology and groupthink can potentially sabotage long standing friendships. For such is the nature of the movie that we're never quite sure who is playing whom and to what extent: are Bobby Gold's newfound sympathies a ruse to ensnare the Israeli criminals, are the Israelis perpetrating an elaborate hoax to escape justice?
David Mamet addresses some of these issues but leaves other questions unanswered; his writing is excellent and he isn't a bad director either, though I could've done without so many of those 'cop-opens-door-and-points-gun-around-room' scenes. 'Homicide' tackles a lot of controversial issues with searing honesty; a brass tacks approach which takes us through the police procedural in a straightforward manner with naturalistic dialogue, a poignant denouement between cop and cop killer and an excellent little twist at the end.
'Homicide', 'House of Games' and 'Glengarry Glenross' were high points in Mamet's career before he began churning out middling fare like 'The Unit' and 'Spartan' and long before the acclaimed dramatist lost his mind.
'Homicide' is a provocative and engaging police procedural that doesn't get the credit it deserves, an undiscovered gem worth looking out for.
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A homicide detective (Joe Mantegna) is diverted from a drug-dealing case to investigate a sweet shop robbery and murder. Although angry at being taken off what he feels is a more important case, the detective soon finds clues indicating the murder may have been part of an large anti-semetic conspiracy.
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