Investigation into the murder of a female undercover narcotics officer in New York City becomes a past-and-present character study of the only suspect: a hippie white kid/bleeding heart police detective who was following in the footsteps of his "ballbuster" father. Assigned to a tough Brownsville division, the young man is paired with a heartless veteran black cop who has a habit of roughing up pimps and street people. Adaptation of James Mills' novel is gauche badge business on the gritty urban streets, vividly photographed by Mario Tosi. The cast isn't well-served by director Milton Katselas--he's location-minded and technical rather than a filmmaker interested in an actor's technique--and yet there's a lot of interesting talent here: Yaphet Kotto, Susan Blakely, Vic Tayback, Hector Elizondo, Tony King, William Devane, Richard Gere in his first film, and an unrecognizable Bob Balaban (who has a showy scene rolling on a cart through downtown traffic). In the lead, Michael Moriarty is achingly green, his Noo Yawk accent a put-on. His uneven performance nearly derails the picture, while writers Abby Mann and Ernest Tidyman have delivered a most illogical screenplay. ** from ****
Review of Report to the Commissioner
