End of Watch: Much More than Typical

Every so often I’m assigned a film I’m dreading viewing, it’s a drag to drive to the movie theatre and sit through something I’m almost certain I won’t like. The premise of End of Watch seems so overdone: found footage movie, buddy cop drama, yadda yadda yadda. It’s typical fare from screenwriter/director David Ayer (Training Day, Fast & The Furious, S.W.A.T., Harsh Times), but somehow End of Watch took a premise we’ve seen on every television cop drama and transformed it into an edge-of-your-seat film.

End of Watch follows two LAPD officers, Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Mike Zavala (Michael Pena), in a docu-drama style through the meanest streets of Los Angeles. After making a routine traffic stop and discovering a drug trafficking operation, the two officers find themselves on the shortlist of a Mexican drug cartel hit list. The film jumps back and forth between the two officers personal lives and their work lives, while cutting out all of the boring stuff in between.

What I liked most about the screenplay was its fluid style. The film condenses about a year in the lives of the two officers, and flows effortlessly from one scene to the next. With each scene we are never sure whether we will be dealing with comedy or gritty drama (or sometimes both). The film is a thrilling experience, and the gimmick of the “found footage” style fits well as a story device.

As a moviegoer you have to suspend some disbelief about the characters. Not every police officer faces gunfire every day, but many of them deal with gang warfare, drug trafficking, and larger than life situations more regularly than most. End of Watch had its moments that were over-dramatized, but within the confines of the story these moments were handled extremely well. I believed what was being shown to me (I’m usually rolling my eyes with every “because you’re a good cop” line). There isn’t one unnecessary scene. Even the ‘fluff’ scenes break up the rising pressure of the two officers’ lives on the job and showcase their humanity.

I often hear stereotypical comments about cops. The most prominent running stereotype is the crooked bully cop; the bad guy who just wants to have a gun and ruin peoples lives. Well, some of my friends and members of my family are police officers, and not one of them is a two-bit Hollywood bad-guy stereotype. They’re as multi-faceted and rich in character as anyone else is. End of Watch is a film that showcases this type of truth. We see the life of a police officer down to its grittiest. Has it been commercialized and Hollywood-ized? Yes, but not as much as you think. There is a service that police officers perform for us every day, sometimes risking their lives to protect us from that percentage of people in this world that would look to do us harm. It’s an uphill battle fought by outnumbered, underpaid, and underappreciated men and women who deserve our respect much more than it is given.

Both Gyllenhaal and Pena (also often underappreciated) handled their roles with a humanity usually not shown in police officer characterizations: they’re funny. They aren’t funny in a “set up & punch-line” sort of way, it’s a conversational blend of humor that we instantly believe because these two are partners who love each other in a way that can only be understood by two people willing to risk their lives for each other. They rip on sexual deeds, make racist impressions, and play pranks on each other. Officer Taylor and Officer Zavala have a quiet understanding, often communicated in the film silently through exchanged looks and hand signals. The chemistry between the two is incredible to see, as we feel the history between them.

I’ve had the opportunity to review a lot of films this year, and none of them have had as much of a surprising impact as End of Watch. From its action packed opening scene to its heartbreakingly funny closing scene, End of Watch is a film that takes you along for quite a ride. It is shocking, raw, hilarious, visceral, and at times groundbreaking. From scene to scene I was never sure whether I would be laughing or angry. As a guy, it’s hard for me to admit when something makes me cry, but I am unashamed to say that End of Watch had me choked up at a few key moments in the film. It also made me laugh out loud just a scene later. If End of Watch is not nominated for an Oscar, it would be a disservice to filmmakers everywhere.