The Thin Blue Line

One of the most persistent dilemmas in modern democracies is between maintaining public safety and maintaining civil rights. Hollywood with its left-wing and liberal bias was traditionally taking the side of the latter. An example for that could be found in The Thin Blue Line, 2000 television film directed by Roger Young.

The plot is based on real events and begins in 1976 when an experienced journalist Jonathan Neumann (played by Rob Morrow) arrives to Philadelphia in order to work for Philadelphia Inquirier, city’s newspaper. When given the task to report on crime, he stumbles onto a case of young mentally handicapped man sentenced for the crime he didn’t commit. Intrigued by the story, he begins to investigate and discovers that the guilty verdict was based on confession extracted through beatings and torture by Philadelphia Police Department. Neumann discovers that real and potential witnesses were given the same treatment in order to secure guilty verdict. His investigation further reveals that the torture and intimidation became most common tool of Philadelphia policemen. The series of articles revealing and condemning the practice brings ire of Frank Rizzo (played by Paul Sorvino), controversial mayor of Philadelphia and former police chief, who wants to secure third term in office and credits harsh police methods for low crime rates in the city.

While trying to condemn harsh law enforcement tactics and suppression of civil rights, script by Daniel Helfgott takes relatively easy aim in the form of Frank Rizzo, whose reign over Philadelphia and accusations of racism made him into one of the most controversial politicians of 1970s America. Nuemann, who ultimately won Pulitzer Prize for his investigative articles, is played by Rob Morrow as the same sort of crusading character Morrow had played in Quiz Show few years earlier. However, The Thin Blue Line, while taking predictably one-sided view in the debate about proper handling of public safety, fails to do so in particularly convincing and interesting manner. The plot is resolved in predictable, yet non-cathartic manner. Furthermore, producers tend to compensate the lack of budget and proper period details with annoying use of 1970s soundtrack. As a result, The Thin Blue Line, despite its intriguing subject and asking questions that haven’t been properly answered to this day, represents hour and half that would quickly vanish from viewers’ memory.

RATING: 3/10 (+)

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