I know what you're all thinking: “Tony,
what the hell is this?” First off, watch your language, young
man/lady/automated internet scammer programmed to search for
keywords. Second, Fort Apache, The Bronx
is a 1981 crime drama film starring Paul Newman. Today, it's little
more than an answer to a Trivial Pursuit question. It's not exactly
an epic masterpiece of cinema, but it at least tried to be more than
it truly was. It's very entertaining, and I've rewatched multiple
times in the past couple years. I'd even go so far as to say that
it's an underrated classic of cop-drama cinema. It's a movie that I
can't help but feel the need to introduce people to, so let me tell
you about it. Spoilers ahead.
It is
the early 1980's. New York City is a crime/drug-infested open sewer
and the South Bronx in particular was a smouldering jungle. Police
officers face problems ranging from prostitution, to mentally
disturbed people, muggers and thieves, teenage pregnancies, drug
dealers who work out of hospitals, and police brutality and
corruption. The film opens with a junkie prostitute named Charlotte
murdering two rookie cops for no apparent reason. This gets the
attention of the NYPD's 41st
Precinct, which includes Murphy (Newman), a middle-aged, veteran
police officer who is pretty much coasting towards his eventual
retirement. Instead of making a difference in the community, he's
more concerned with simply keeping the peace. This doesn't suit the
plans of the station's new Captain Connolly (Ed Asner) a gung-ho,
by-the-book officer who's determined to get his district cleaned up,
starting with the capture of the cop killer. Connolly orders his
officers to stop turning a blind eye to petty crimes and issue mass
arrests in the hopes of getting leads and sending a message that
criminal behaviour won't be tolerated. Murphy and his partner Corelli
(Ken Wahl) – a young, careerist, yet optimistic rookie cop –
reluctantly comply.
The public rebels
against the overbearing police activity, culminating in at least two
riots. During one of these riots, Murphy and Corelli witness a fellow
officer – Morgan, played by Danny Aiello – throw an innocent
young man off a roof, killing him. Murphy is torn on whether he
should reveal the officer's identity to Captain Connolly, while
Corelli advises him to keep quiet.
Meanwhile, Murphy
takes an interest in a nurse named Isabella (Rachel Ticotin). Over
the course of the film they begin dating. A relationship develops.
After a while, Murphy is disappointed to learn that Isabella is a
casual drug user. He confronts her about it which, in combination
with him expressing his indecision on whether to rat out Morgan,
causes tension between the two.
It is true that
Fort Apache, The Bronx has a lot of subplots, but they all are
tied together quite nicely. That's what I think sets this film apart
from other cops-and-robbers movies. While FAtB does have cop movie
cliches, its overall focus is mainly on how urban decay affects
people and the choices they make in dealing with it. A lot of the
characters are forced into compromising their own moral beliefs as
they struggle with their consciences. And they're not always
black-and-white issues either. Both sides often have legitimate
viewpoints. That's what makes Fort Apache, The Bronx so moving
and realistic.
But it's not always
depressing and serious; there are brief moments of decent comedy as
well. This mostly happens during scenes in the police station and
especially when we follow Murphy and Corelli around town as they work
on assignments together. This wouldn't have been as enjoyable without
the presence of Wahl and Newman, who display outstanding chemistry
despite their dissimilarities.
Anyways, back to
the plot. After seeing Murphy drop her off, Isabella's drug dealers
assume that she's doing undercover police work. So to get rid of her
they set her up with a poisoned batch of heroin. The next day, a
hostage situation breaks out in the hospital over a drug deal/sting
operation gone wrong just as Isabella overdoses. Murphy and co. come
to the rescue but it's too late for Isabella, who died while the
shootout was occuring. Heartbroken, Murphy goes for a long walk alone
around the filthy neighbourhood in what's easily the most powerful
scene in the film. There's no dialogue or music; it's just a few long
shots of Murphy walking with his hands in his pockets and all you can
hear are the sounds of life going on for the indifferent city.
Returning to the station, Murphy goes to Connolly's office, confesses
his knowledge of Morgan killing the kid, and resigns, believing
himself to be fully burnt out. In spite of their differences,
Connolly tells Murphy that he was a good cop, and he tries talking
him out of quitting, but without success. Moments later, Corelli does
the same with similar results.
However, when
presented with an opportunity to catch a burglar who had earlier
eluded him, Murphy springs into action. The movie ends on an
ambiguous freezeframe – which is kind of cheesy, but charmingly so
– leaving it open to interpretation whether or not Murphy's
policing days are behind him just yet. I like this ending. It gives
the film a sign of hope in spite of the gritty stuff we had just
seen. Moments earlier we saw Charlotte's corpse hidden in a pile of
rubble/garbage, wrapped up in a carpet as just another anonymous
body. You know the police will never find out who killed those two
rookie officers at the beginning.
Regrettably, I must
mention that there are a bunch of scenes that kind of go nowhere. For
instance, the drug dealer plot could have been resolved better than
with a shootout scene. Charlotte's story could have been much more
condensed (take out the middle and just have her murdering cops and
then later show her dead body; that's really all the movie needed).
Another scene has Murphy and Corelli trying to rescue a guy from
jumping off a building. It's as if these scenes were shoved in to
give the movie more action/violence when it really didn't need that
much of it. There's also a rather pointless scene in which Corelli
spends a night at his fiancee's apartment.
One thing that
really drew me in was the film's setting. If you've ever wanted to be
transported back in time to NYC's darkest period, then this is as
close as you're going to get. Fort Apache, The Bronx is shot
on location in the South Bronx, smack dab in the middle of a city
that was at once among both the world's richest and poorest. The
rubble lots, the burnt-out buildings, and the graffiti are all
authentic, giving the movie a very gritty, worldly feel.
One last thing to
comment on is the production value. It isn't terrible (in fact, most
of the shots look great), but it does come across as cheap at times.
For example, some of the special effects aren't very convincing. The
extras aren't all that great at acting (even by extra standards), and
we even see the same ones recycled a few times.
Nevertheless, I
think Fort Apache, The Bronx is an underappreciated drama
offering a powerful and (mostly) realistic view of peoples' lives in
the midst of severe urban blight. It has relatable characters, good
performances, an engaging story, and an engrossing setting. It's also
a cool time capsule of sorts that's still relevant today; the date
and city may have changed, but the setting and issues are the same.
It's a human story, and a very enjoyable one at that.
Grade: three and a
half out of five.
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