L.A. conventional

>> A great cast struggles against Keanu and clichés in the LAPD drama Street Kings

STIFF STAR: Reeves

by MALCOLM FRASER

Screenwriter David Ayer, whose oeuvre runs the gamut from Training Day to The Fast and the Furious, made his directorial debut in 2005 with the largely overlooked Harsh Times, in which Christian Bale gave a typically intense performance as an Afghanistan war vet with some serious anger management issues. Now Ayer returns with Street Kings, a thriller set in the Los Angeles police department and co-written by James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential).

As per the Ellroy worldview, the LAPD is portrayed as a snakepit full of corruption, brutality and moral ambiguity. Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves) is a detective in an elite vice squad headed by Captain Wander (Forest Whitaker). Reeves has recently lost his wife, and uses the time-honoured coping mechanisms of denial, alcoholism and relentless commitment to his job. When his ex-partner (Terry Crews) is killed in a gas-station shoot-up, Reeves finds himself navigating a labyrinth of conflicting interests, betrayal and testosterone-fuelled men with guns.

The film is stacked with a great cast—the always dependable Whitaker, solid character actors like Hugh Laurie and Jay Mohr, and the hip hop cameos you need from Common and the Game. There’s only one weak link, and it’s right at the top of the chain. Good old Keanu has a certain unshakeable stiffness as an actor, which is just fine when the role is appropriate to his style (The Matrix, Speed, Bill & Ted) and less so when it isn’t (the list is too long). Here as always, he gives his valiant best, but delivering dialogue convincingly just isn’t one of his strengths, and it’s one of the basics you need in a dramatic role.

As for the story, its multiple double-crosses and flourishes of macho oratory are reminiscent of David Mamet, but with the clever turns of phrase replaced by hard-boiled clichés. Actually, if you saw Dark Blue, the Kurt Russell LAPD drama also adapted by Ayer from an Ellroy novel, you’ve effectively already seen this.

As Harsh Times demonstrated, Ayer has a good grasp of visual style and atmosphere, and the plot has enough twists to keep things interesting. But in the end, the clichés overshadow the craftsmanship, failing to elevate this above the police-drama-saturated landscape.

Street Kings opens
this Friday, April 11

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