Gangster Squad
starring Josh Brolin, Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone
written by David Loucka
directed by Jim Sheridan
Rating: ♦♦◊◊◊
This film is loosely based on the story of Los Angeles Police Department officers and detectives forming a group called the "Gangster Squad unit" who attempt to keep the city safe from gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) and his gang during the 1940s and '50s. While the film, characters, and events are mostly fictionalized the LAPD did have a unit called the "Gangster Squad," but resemblance to reality pretty much ends there.
The film purports to be inspired by a true story, though much of the story is fabricated. The film concludes with Cohen being arrested in 1949 for murder and sent to Alcatraz. In reality, he was imprisoned in 1951 for tax evasion.
I loved Josh Brolin. He’s good looking. He looks tough, He’s gritty. What a character. Gangster Squad was a little too full of period gangsterism. I was confused at times. I thought, who are the bad guys and the good guys again? Who's working for who? What's the chain of command? Are these guys the police or the gangsters?