Homicide (1991 film)

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Homicide is a crime drama written and directed by David Mamet, and released in 1991. The film's cast includes Joe Mantegna, William H. Macy, and Ving Rhames.

[edit] Plot

Bobby Gold (Mantegna) is an inner-city homicide detective on the trail of Robert Randolph (Rhames), a drug-dealer and cop-killer on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List. While en route to nab an accomplice of Randolph, Gold and his partner Sullivan (Macy) happen upon a murder scene: the elderly Jewish owner of a candy store in a black ghetto has been gunned down, presumably for a fortune hidden in her basement. The deceased woman's son, a doctor, uses his clout to have Gold assigned to the case in the belief that Gold, himself Jewish, might be empathetic to his plight. Gold, however, seems to disregard his ethnicity, and beyond that, he's nonplussed about being pulled off a much higher-profile case. A nighttime survey of the crime scene uncovers an important piece of the woman's past, and Gold's reluctance turns to curiosity, leading to the discovery of a Zionist organization operating in the city. As the film reaches its climax, Gold is thrust into a series of circumstances that test not only his loyalty to the badge, but also his newfound Jewish consciousness.

Mamet's aim with this, his third directorial effort, seemed to be to take elements from conventional pictures -- namely, police procedurals -- and place them in the framework of a story dealing with issues of identity, conspiracy, and duty. As is common, the end result was more of a success with critics than audiences. Prominent among all else in the film is Mamet's trademark dialogue, especially the verbiage among authority figures, where much is revealed through both soliloquy and invective. This is said to be best typefied in two scenes: the first occurs at the beginning, where in the midst of dressing down Gold, a black official calls him a kike, raising the ire of both Gold and Sullivan; the second -- perhaps the most talked-about moment in the film - Of note: Despite being shot in Baltimore, the film is not related to the long-running television series Homicide: Life on the Street.

[edit] External links

• Homicide at the Internet Movie Database