End Of Watch

Director: David Ayer
Writers: David Ayer
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Anna Kendrick, Natalie Martinez, David Harbour, Frank Grillo, America Ferrera
Action-Drama

Movie Review

police procedural

As the credits rolled, a friend watching the film said “That didn’t seem like fiction.” I agree. Let me tell you why.

End of Watch has a fairy-tale beginning: Once upon a time in South Central, but it is a far cry from a fairy tale. It’s a buddy-cop film centering on uniformed officers Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Miguel Zavala (Michael Peña), partners working the streets in the tough part of town. They are in high-stress jobs, working on the edge, often forced to use their weapons on the job.

The setup as the movie begins is a city in turmoil: Hispanic gangs are taking over the city from the Black gangs that were ascendant, and the inevitable conflicts are leading to arrests on both sides. Taylor and Zavala are back at work after time-off following a “good” shoot. Zavala is happily married to his high school sweetheart, expecting his first child. Taylor is going to school part-time, with an eye toward law school one day. He is highly intelligent, and looking for the right girl. A project for a film class has him recording the pair’s work on the beat, providing the opportunity to add in some documentary-style (found footage) clips to increase the sense of realism.

Both of these cops use humor, much of it crude, to help get past the horror they see every day, and the dangers of the job, as they chase after “All the basic food groups: dope, money, and guns.”

The movie builds slowly, taking its time to let you get to know Taylor and Zavala intimately. You really come to care about these guys, and to understand them. Even though they can be jerks sometimes, they both have good hearts, and that really comes across as you share family gatherings and days on the job, frustration, joy, and even practical jokes.

The plot diverts into various by-ways and eddys, rather than a single straight line, showing a more real look at the life of beat cops.

Jake Gyllenhaal is 100% believable and brings incredible depth to his performance. Michael Peña is right there with him. Between them, they’re onscreen for nearly all the film, and they really, really make it work. The supporting cast does solid work, especially Frank Grillo as the pair’s sergeant, and David Harbour as a by-the-book fellow officer, always in opposition, as well as Anna Kendrick and Natalie Martinez as their respective love interests.

End Of Watch, Movie Review