‘Cop Land’ Is What Happens When A Few Bad Apples Spoil The Bunch

Nothing busts canons quite like living in interesting times. In our ongoing Inflection Point series, we look back at the films that have taken on new relevance due to our ongoing cultural and political upheaval. Some beloved, some undiscovered, these titles deserve newfound consideration as film criticism evolves to meet the moment.

In 1997, filmmaker James Mangold sat down with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mike McAlary to discuss the continued relevance of corrupt cops on the screen. Mangold, who was currently making the rounds with his new police thriller “Cop Land,” had connected with the New York Daily News crime reporter to discuss the intricacies of translating real-life instances of police corruption to the big screen. “One guy I talked to put it simply,” Mangold recalled. “The real tragedy isn’t that there are dirty cops – there are very few of them – but that they exist everywhere.”

READ MORE: James Mangold Talks ‘Cop Land’ & “Commuting Cops” Contributing To Systemic Racism

In recent weeks, Mangold has become one of many creators openly discussing the impact of their police movies and television shows. This conversation comes when others have tried to trot out decades-old talking points to increasingly diminishing returns. As ongoing protests over police brutality enter their fourth week, some have been attempting to frame the issue as a few bad apples in a bunch. This talking point became so ubiquitous that Helen Rosner, food journalist for the New Yorker, was compelled to write a no-nonsense essay on the length farmers will to go to prevent rot from spreading to the rest of an apple crop. “Better to trim and burn the infected branch,” she concluded, “or even the whole tree.”

With “Cop Land,” Mangold made this exact case.

READ MORE: ‘Dark Blue’ Does Not Shy Away From The Cruelty & Institutional Racism Of The Police

“Cop Land” was released in a period of resurgent interest in the American auteur, where any young, white writer with a good script could parlay his contract into a directorial credit. Mangold was only 32-years-old when he made “Cop Land,” a youthfulness in direct contrast to the veteran cast he had assembled onscreen. With stars like Harvey KeitelRobert De Niro, and Ray Liotta – not to mention Sylvester Stallone in a career-reviving turn against type – “Cop Land” would garner positive reviews for its performances. It would also endure as a sobering representation of the “two Americas” that are so often reflected in instances of police violence.

READ MORE: ‘Narc’: Revisiting Joe Carnahan’s Story About The Fallout Of Police Violence

Freddy Heflin (Stallone) may work in law enforcement, but he’s no cop. After suffering an accident in his teenage years that cost him his hearing, Heflin has all but given up on his dreams of becoming a New York City police officer. Instead, he serves as the sheriff of a Garrison, New Jersey, a small community that caters almost exclusively to NYPD cops and their families. Garrison is the brainchild of Ray Donlan (Keitel), a police sergeant who runs the town of 1280 as his empire. The arrangements Donlan makes on the job in Manhattan ensure that the community of Garrison remains both affluent and safe, and everyone – Heflin included – adheres to an unspoken agreement to look the other way.

READ MORE: ‘It Comes At Night’s’ Bleak Realism Terrifies More Than Ever During A Global Pandemic

Heflin likes his life. He dotes on his high school crush, fills his office with old vinyl records, and quietly intervenes when the so-called “good cops” of Garrison bring the violence of New York City into their homes. When Heflin is visited by Internal Affairs officer Moe Tilden (De Niro), a former classmate and longtime adversary of Conlan, Heflin politely refuses to cooperate – Garrison is a quiet community, after all, and it is not his job to go kicking over rocks. But when Conlan’s nephew disappears after shooting two unarmed Black teenagers, only to reappear hiding out in his uncle’s home, Heflin is forced to choose between pretending to be a cop and wearing the badge for real.

READ MORE: “Feeling Safe” Isn’t Enough: Reopening Cinemas Should Be Decided By Medical Professionals, Not Marketers

In his much-discussed Twitter thread, Mangold openly addressed the inherent disconnect in having a police force that lives outside the communities they serve. In Garrison, we are presented with the dramatized ideal of the suburban police lifestyle. The assurances that Donlan provides may not require the rest of his town to get their hands dirty, but everyone – from the sheriff on down – are content to look the other way if it keeps house payments low and the crime rate nonexistent. Heflin is smart enough to recognize his position as a marriage of convenience. He is only fit to be a law enforcement officer in a town that doesn’t need one.

Part of what makes “Cop Land” so interesting is this lack of honest police work on the screen. While many police thrillers will try to offset the immorality of characters with the work they do to protect the streets – tacitly implying that some degree of moral latitude is necessary for the job – “Cop Land” operates almost entirely on violence and corruption. When Heflin catches someone speeding, he tears up the ticket. When Heflin assists on a routine traffic stop, we soon realize his deputy uses traffic violations as an excuse to chase a young Black couple out of their all-white community.

READ MORE: James Mangold Says Cinemas Were Already Killing Themselves Before Streaming & The Pandemic Came Along

This set-up allows “Cop Land” to offer more pointed criticisms of the role that police play in our neighborhoods. Since Garrison is a community made up of hand-picked police officers – only cops actively working or actively ignoring Conlan’s mafia connections are invited to join – the social contract between police and the community here is nonexistent. Mangold speaks openly in contemporary interviews about his desire to have “Cop Land” be a blend of urban flight and frontier justice. Conflating western tropes with modern policing underscores just how anachronistic the values of westerns are in modern society, no matter how much law enforcement may romanticize their impact.

It is endlessly entertaining to watch Stallone’s character shamble up the street, shotgun in hand, to force a final violent showdown with Donlan and his men. It is also satisfying to see Liotta’s Gary Figgis, the equivalent of the town drunk, join his friend for one last ride against the corrupt land barons that own this land. But like so many westerns, “Cop Land” must end in a moment of restored balance. The lousy police are routed, Heflin keeps his job, and the film closes on Stallone, smiling, as his deputy calls him back to the “routine” business of a traffic accident. Many cop movies – especially ones with big budgets and studio stars – must restore the status quo, and we are left to judge them by how willing they were to deviate from the norm until the climactic shootout.

READ MORE: ‘Cop Land’ Is Going To Be A TV Show Now Too, James Mangold Back To Write The Pilot & Produce

In an era where police often feel like an occupying force in the communities, they are supposed to serve, it is still refreshing to have films like “Cop Land” to draw back on. In showing how thoroughly a few “bad apples” can ruin the whole, Mangold and his cast crafted a film that pushes back on some of our longest-held police narratives. Garrison’s residents may not all be murders, but in turning a blind eye to the dealings of Conlan and his mean, they prove themselves to be bastards, one and all.