Poster of Line of Duty

Line of Duty

Crime, Drama, Mystery

Director: N/A

Release Date: August 21, 2012

Where to Watch

Line of Duty is a new take on film noir, but considering that the actual palette is gray & blue for 21st century thrillers perhaps it is time for a new name! Overall a riveting story in spite of the times that require huge suspensions of disbelief. The moral ambiguity of the anti-hero lies in Lennie James’ skills & the plot holes–you can’t believe that a cop would do all the initial stupid things that he does for his femme fatale if he wasn’t crooked, but he is really a tragic hero. His foil is perfectly cast & earnest. Their parallel bureaucratic troubles fit perfectly. I was relieved that the zealous female cop didn’t become a love interest for anyone & remained dogged. The end is suitably bleak and cynical though I kind of saw it coming with the interrogation and revelation of the background of one of the cops. Warning: a dog is visibly injured & whimpers in pain before dying off screen.

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