‘Dark Blue,’ with Kurt Russell, is modern crime classic

I don’t fault you for not knowing Dark Blue, the Kurt Russell gem from 2002. It largely was a miss at the box office and entered the doldrums of DVD limbo way too quickly. But trust me, there is much to appreciate about this little piece of historical fiction.

Set against the backdrop of the riots that broke out in Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict in the early 1990s, Dark Blue is a tangled look at the LAPD and the bygone era of cowboy cops. Russell plays Eldon Perry, a police sergeant on the verge of making lieutenant. He comes from a long line of police officers. He even carries around his father’s gun, and his father’s old partner is now his boss (Jack Van Meter, played with sly brilliance by Brendan Gleeson).

Eldon is the type of police officer who thinks King was the bad guy and the four cops charged with his beating should get off with no criminal charges. Eldon plants evidence on the men he arrests, lobs racial invectives as he walks the sidewalks of South Central and is about as corrupt as the so-called criminals he either kills or arrests (he normally ends up killing suspects).

Eldon is a gunslinger, and it should come as no surprise that Dark Blue is based on a story by James Ellroy, the scribe behind such legendary tomes as L.A. Confidential, White Jazz and The Black Dahlia. Ellroy has made a career out of profiling Los Angeles police officers who are broken, sometime sinful men. Eldon is one of his finest portraits, thanks in large part to Russell’s performance.

I remember watching Dark Blue for the first time in Edgewater, N.J., with my sister. The theater was largely empty, but I knew this flick had the potential of being a great movie. I was not disappointed. I would go so far as saying that Russell was cheated of an Oscar nomination that year.

Scott Speedman plays Bobby Keough, Eldon’s young partner. Ving Rhames offers a quietly dignified performance as Arthur Holland, the first African-American deputy chief of the department, a man with his sights on the top job. Rounding out the cast are Michael Michele, Lolita Davidovich, Kurupt and Dash Mihok.

Ron Shelton (Tin Cup, Bull Durham) directed the movie, and he achieves a great snapshot of American history. The city of Los Angeles comes to life in the movie, with all of its bumps and bruises. The final shot of the film, which shows the L.A. skyline on fire during the riots, will haunt you for some time.

Do yourself a favor, check out Dark Blue on DVD.

• Dark Blue

• 2002

• Directed by Ron Shelton

• Written by David Ayer, based on a story by James Ellroy

• Starring Kurt Russell, Ving Rhames and Scott Speedman

• Running time: 118 minutes

• Rated R for violence, language and brief sexuality

• Rating:

Revised