Marshalling a terrific cast that includes Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight and Noah Emmerich, Gavin O'Connor's Pride and Glory crafts a moving saga about the sacrifices one family must make to stand among New York's finest.
For the men of the Tierney family, the New York City Police Department has become a family business. It's what they know they're good at. As the film opens, snow falls on the annual holiday football game between New York's police and firefighters. Tierney family patriarch and former police chief Francis (a commanding performance by Voight) sits with his sons Francis Jr. (Emmerich) and Ray (Norton) as they cheer on their brother-in-law Jimmy Egan (Farrell). All four men are cops. It is a beautiful moment, until news comes that several officers have been killed on duty. And this is not a simple massacre. Fingers point not just to known bad guys, but back within the department.
Moving quickly to put a lid on things, Francis Sr. persuades his trusted son Ray to investigate his fellow officers, but the trail begins to lead to their own family. Suspicion mounts that Jimmy and Francis Jr. are involved. With Ray's world already tearing at the seams – he is haunted by a previous case and estranged from a wife he adores – he probes deeper into the murk of police corruption, staking both his professional reputation and his place within the family on tracking down those who caused the deaths of good officers.
Norton turns in a great performance, digging deep into the role of a man daunted by his family's legacy in uniform. Farrell is a perfect match, playing a pragmatist who has adapted the NYPD's code of honour to suit the hard realities of the street. And as the old veteran of NYPD life, Voight's performance reveals layer after layer. Like a godfather working on the right side of the law, both his actions and his motives follow his own rules.
With its themes of family, respect and honour among men, Pride and Glory is a thriller with both heart and soul.
Gavin O'Connor studied at the University of Pennsylvania before moving to New York City to work in film and theatre. After writing and directing several shorts, he made his feature directing debut with Tumbleweeds (99), which earned the Filmmakers Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival in 1999. He has also directed Miracle (04) and Pride and Glory (08).