MovieChat Forums > Cop Land (1997) Discussion > Much of this movie is unclear to me

Much of this movie is unclear to me

posted 9 years ago by SnoozeAlarm
8 replies | jump to latest

Here's what the movie tells us:

- Tunney and Figsy were partners.

- Two years earlier, Tunney was arrested.

- Tunney was going to divulge info to a police investigation regarding police corruption, presumably in exchange for not getting in trouble for whatever he was arrested for.

- Tunney was then found dead in his jail cell.

- When Stallone sees the photo in the paper about Tunney's death, he sees the jailer and says "I know this guy". He sees the same guy in local photos, and realizes that the local guys paid this jailer to kill Tunney.

- So far, so good. It certainly explains why nobody wants to talk about Tunney anymore.

But:

1. Why does everyone hate Figsy now?

2. What does Figsy mean when he says to Ray: "Don't forget who it was that you came to two years ago to cover your ass?"

3. What does Figsy mean when he says a few sentences later: "You want it to go away but I'm still here"?

4. When Stallone pieces it all together, the cop beside him says: "How come Figs didn't do something about it, huh? I mean, he was Ray's right hand man back then." I have absolutely no idea what that means.

It should be against the law to use 'LOL'; unless you really did LOL!

[–] jawsfan007 9 years ago

Figgsy was to be more involved with the police corruption, but i'm sure he was forced to give up his partner, because his partner was going to spill secrets. This sent Figgsy on a downward spiral of guilt and drug use.

Tunney was arrested for using a chokehold on a suspect that resulted in the suspects desth.

He was going to quit, take his insurance money from the house fire( he obtains the explosives from Edie Falco in the beginning, she is bomb squad) and leave garrison behind.

At the end, as he is fleeing, he knows what Stallone is about to do and relaizes that he can;t leave another friend/Fellow officer to die like he did before, so he turns around and races back to help his friend.

[–] kmags84 9 years ago

Figsy was definitely a decent guy. He certainly had his share of dirt on him but you could tell he was loyal and Liotta brought him to life. This film is carried by the performances of Stallone, Keitel and Liotta. Figsy may have used his badge in ways he shouldn't have but he wasn't exactly a POS. He came back to help out his friend, even though all he wanted was to break loose. I relate to his character... We all have our bad times, he was on the downslope. Drugs, girlfriends death and all but he was honorable and that's what separated him from most of the City Cops. He KNEW he was falling apart, they all just didn't care

[–] jawsfan007 9 years ago

it's a great moment when he is racing out of town and Figgsy looks in his rearview.

"Shut the Fack up will, yah." and slams the breaks.

He knows that he can't turn his back on a friend and fellow officer again.

One of the best moments but i think my favorite is Stgallone's Oscar moment.

"I can't hear you ray."

Sums up the character arc to perfection with Freddy no longer listening to his "pals"

[–] kmags84 9 years ago

Wow... That's actually a really good take on that scene. It registers on both levels. "I can't hear you Ray"... Superb. I feel this is one of the most underrated films on imdb. I have it at a solid 9/10. Not perfect but a slow burner in the BEST Way. The character development is strong where it needs to be and you got DeNiro, Keitel, Stallone and Liotta... Nevermind the rest of the great supporting cast. I generally don't like comparing this way but if it said " Directed by Martin Scorsese" instead of James Mangold(Who Did a PHENOMENAL Job), people would view this differently IMO. Idk what else is needed here. Sometimes a thin plot can be carried by a great cast. That's what we get. I love the score, the atmosphere... You just feel the tension boiling.

[–] jpkrunch 7 years ago

He (unintentionally) burned his girlfriend to death. He would be in jail for life which would be very short since he was ratting on the mob. Freddy would be dead also and certainly would not be welcome in Cop Land. You are not a decent guy if you do not take responsibility for your actions, especially if they include murder.

I would say my memory is not what it used to be. But I don't remember what my memory used to be.

[–] david1806 8 years ago

Yeah I had pretty much the same questions but have watched it enough now to get most of it. In fact watching it now on Movie Mix. Great film.... Stallone is excellent... :-)

[–] LostInNecropolis2 7 years ago

Anyone have a clue what the deal was with the black guy beating the hell out of that random officer and officer Randone? Was this completely set up by ray? or was its just a random call responding to a psycho and ray just did his part to make sure Randone falls and dies before they could rescue him?

[–] kurtrivero 7 years ago

It was a random crime and Ray used it to his advantage.

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