Page 18 THE VILLADOM TIMES II & IV • January 30, 2013 ‘Broken City’ is thriller that strains credibility by Dennis Seuling “Broken City” boasts some impressive credentials: a first-rate cast, terrific New York City locations, and an established director. The theatrical trailer makes this film look like a winner, with tempting snippets of colorful dialogue, some action sequences, and intriguing glimpses of Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Mark Wahlberg star in ‘Broken City.’ the characters. On closer look, however, the film is flimsily constructed, and its flaws are magnified when one considers how the events depicted might actually happen. Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg) is a New York City cop brought up on charges of murder after he shoots and kills a wanted rapist, supposedly in self-defense. He is saved from conviction through the efforts of Mayor Nicholas Hostetler (Russell Crowe) who, seven years later, asks Billy to return the favor. Billy has been working as a private investigator, barely making a living. The mayor offers him $50,000 to follow his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) to learn with whom she is having an affair. The job seems easy, and Billy needs the cash, so he accepts. The task is more involved than it seems, and screenwriter Brian Tucker takes viewers down a circuitous path and through a maze of subplots as he lays out Hostetler’s more elaborate, far more heinous motivation. The viewer can see events coming long before they transpire, and it’s clear that there is a lot more to the mayor’s scheme than merely catching his wife being unfaithful. The film progresses through a series of events, each of which is more unlikely than the next, before the final mystery is solved. A subplot involving Billy’s former relationship with his actress girlfriend (Natalie Martinez), causing him to drink too much, leads nowhere. Sloppy scripting asks viewers to believe a shady company hastily shredding incriminating documents would casually leave unshredded documents near a dumpster for Billy to find. The red herrings are blatantly obvious, which spoils the fun of discovering the “big reveal.” Crowe is overzealous in his portrayal, hammering home that the mayor relishes power, rules the city more as an autocrat than an elected official, and considers himself above the law. Hostetler is part Tony Soprano and part selfempowered politico. Crowe plays the role with few shadings, so that when his Hostetler approaches Billy, it’s clear he has a private agenda. Director Allen Hughes makes the mistake of doling out too much information too soon. Hostetler should be an enigmatic figure. Wahlberg does a respectable job as the guy -- not exactly pure of heart -- who becomes a pawn in a dangerous political intrigue. Billy is likeable and it’s easy to relate to him as an average Joe who was once caught up in a very bad situation and now must perform a kind of penance for that transgression. This flaw renders Billy a down-to-earth human being who ultimately comes to question why he is being paid so much for a routine task. Wahlberg conveys intelligence, but the script asks him to act in distinctly unintelligent ways. The supporting cast is strong: Barry Pepper is Jack (continued on Crossword page)