Featuring a sun stroked Los Angeles, boiling in the midst of various LAPD scandals that are sweeping the city, and led by a towering performance by Woody Harrelson, Oren Moverman's "Rampart" is a riveting portrait of a city and of one man trying to keep his head above water. But Date Rape Dave (the lovely sobriquet given to him by his colleagues) is no saint. His own vices and crooked approach to the job are begining to fester within him, and nearly everyone in his path is soon to be sucked into his whirlpool of self-loathing, shame, rage and fear.
Yes, "Rampart" is a cop gone wrong tale, but it's so much more than that. Brimming with a great cast (Sigourney Weaver, Anne Heche, Ice Cube, Cynthia Nixon, Ben Foster, Steve Buscemi), playing an assortment of fascinating characters, Oren Moverman has constructed a movie unlike any other about a police officer you might have seen. In this exclusive clip, we get a nice taste of the tone and tenor of the film. The scene centers on Dave Brown and his daughter Helen (Brie Larson) as they share a conversation that quickly turns in a scalding assessment of his character as a father and person. It's a wrenching scene with Helen longing for connection with Dave, who is clearly in his own orbit.
"Rampart" has already concluded its Oscar qualifying run, but it will head back into theaters on January 27, 2012. Mark it on your calendar, and watch below.