Even
in laidback Australia, cops are still cops. It’s not like they’re issued a
Fosters along with their gun and badge. A drunken driving incident could cost a
good copper like Det. Mal Toohey everything, but the subsequent cover-up will
have even greater implications in Matthew Saville’s Felony (trailer
here), which
opens this Friday in New York.
Toohey’s
long planned drugs raid was a spectacular success. The only wrinkle was the
slug he took in the vest. Hailed as a hero, he spent the night celebrating with
his colleagues. Unfortunately, he clips a cyclist on the way home. As decent person,
Toohey immediately calls it in, but plays the role of witness rather than an involved
party. As it happens, veteran detective Carl Summer and his goody-two-shoes new
partner Jim Melic are on patrol nearby. After a quick private caucus with
Toohey, Summer molds his story into something that will fit the scene.
Obviously,
this is not an incident Summer wants to revisit, but Melic cannot let it go, in
part due to his attraction to the comatose boy’s Indian mother. While Summer
ought to be able to bluff and bully him into line, Toohey starts complicating
matters with his inconvenient guilt-tripping.
Written
by co-star Joel Edgerton (the future Uncle Owen in the next batch of Stars Wars prequels), Felony is a cop story long on angst and short
on firearms discharge. It is a good vehicle for Edgerton’s brooding chops, but
Tom Wilkinson really steals the show as Summer, the darkly complex veteran. He
is truly one of the best in the business. Wisely, as Toohey and Melic, Edgerton
and Jai Courtney go the quiet, understated route, rather than try to compete
with the wonderfully acerbic persona Wilkinson creates. In contrast, the women
in Felony do not have much to do, but
at least Melissa George gets one good scene as Toohey’s concerned wife.
