Actors Wahlberg and Crowe shine in gritty, enjoyable “Broken City”
Hot sex is no replacement for cold cash in “Broken City,” a follow-the-money mystery thriller with more twists and turns than a collection of Sherlock Holmes adventures.
In the enjoyably shallow R-rated picture, a former-cop-turned-private-eye, Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg of “Boogie Nights”), is asked by New York City’s powerful mayor, Nicolas Hostetler (Russell Crowe of “Gladiator”), to follow his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones of “Chicago”) and find out if she’s unfaithful. The manipulative politician worries that if that’s true it would destroy his re-election bid since the public would lose respect for him and vote for his fiery young opponent (Barry Pepper of “Saving Private Ryan”).
Soon after, a body count begins, and the plot darkens considerably.
Director Allen Hughes (“From Hell”) populates the narrative with detours that take the basic plot in various directions without ever going totally off track. Hughes also benefits from gifted stars and talented supporting performers. They include Jeffrey Wright (“Casino Royale”) as a rule-bending police official; Kyle Chandler (“Argo”) as a caring campaign manager; and Natalie Martinez (“Death Race”) as Taggart’s emotionally worn out wife.
The many characters in “Broken City” allow Hughes to shift the picture into numerous directions. The best moments involve Wahlberg as a patsy whose instincts as a former police officer have dulled to a great degree since his days on the force.
Wahlberg and his advisors should be applauded for signing the rising star for a variety of roles.
The 41-year-old actor has played a pro-football hopeful (“Invincible,” based on the life of South Jersey resident and former Eagle Vince Papale), a remarkable sniper (“Shooter”), a comically frustrated detective (“The Other Guys” with Will Ferrell), an intense police official (“The Departed,” for which he received an Oscar nomination as best supporting actor), a boxing hopeful (“The Fighter”), a former illegal-cargo runner (“Contraband”), and a guy with a hilariously strong attachment to a stuffed teddy bear (“Ted,” the box-office sensation written and directed by 39-year-old Seth MacFarlane).
Certainly Wahlberg has been involved with gritty fare such as “The Yards” and “We Own the Night,” but “Broken City” gives the actor a golden opportunity to show his qualities as a leading man playing an ill-fated character whose redemption comes at a very steep price.
Those attending “Broken City” should go in a forgiving mood. Some of the plot elements seem too farfetched and one wishes Wahlberg had more confrontations with the imposing Crowe, but in the end, the film works well enough to warm the hearts of his fans during this winter movie season.