What it’s about
Half deaf Freddy Heflin (Stallone) is sheriff of a quiet New Jersey suburb whose residents include a large percentage of New York cops, including local hot-shot Ray Donlan (Keitel). When a crime occurs on his turf involving Donlan and his other policeman buddies, Freddy investigates and is soon on to a conspiracy which could cost him his friendships and his life.
Why we love it
Stallone wisely took the nuanced, meaty role of Freddy as a change of pace from his usual comic book hero parts, and he is surprisingly good here — and what a supporting cast he had to work with! Keitel is superb as the crooked cop with the most to lose, who vastly underestimates Freddy; Liotta excels in an intense performance as Freddy's emotionally scarred only friend; and De Niro is spot-on in a smaller role as a frustrated internal affairs investigator. Smart and suspenseful, “Cop Land” is one crime drama that's criminally underrated.
Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Janeane Garofalo, Annabella Sciorra James Mangold