So What Was His Second Day on the Job Like?

Rating: Null/10 (6 July 2002)

Denzel Washington earned his Best Actor Oscar in 'Training Day' portraying a veteran LAPD narcotics officer who has become every bit as hard, amoral and corrupt as the mean city streets he patrols. We've seen plenty of 'bad apple' cops in movies before, but rarely one as chillingly complex as Alonzo Harris, a man who long ago abandoned any of the crime-fighting idealism that led him to the job in the first place. Harris has learned that to deal with bad people one has to become bad oneself, and he has no compunction against going outside the law if that is the only way to get what he wants. For while he may piously declare that he is only beating the lowlifes at their own game - employing their tools, using their methods - the truth is that Harris has simply sold his soul to the same self-centered greed that motivates the criminals he is supposedly after.
Writer David Ayer provides Harris with the perfect foil for him to go up against in the form of Jake Hoyt, a rookie cop who has been assigned to be the veteran's partner. Feeling that he is finally going to be able to fulfill his lifelong dream of helping to make the world a better place, Jake is in for a very rude awakening once he comes up against the hardboiled cynicism of this more-than-he-bargained-for partner. Filled with the understandable jitters and self-doubt that come with the first day on the job, Jake quickly comes to see that there is something not quite right with Harris, who spends much of the day breaking laws, flauting procedures and even threatening Jake's life if he doesn't go along with the many nefarious plans and schemes he has up his sleeves. Of course, Harris attempts to seduce Jake over to his way of thinking by arguing that such 'unconventional' actions are required to circumvent a legal system that hamstrings officers with its bureaucratic rules and obsession with civil rights violations. Or is this just a convenient excuse for Harris to justify his lawbreaking? The film is, in many ways, more interesting as a study of Jake's character than of Harris', as we wonder if Jake will come to accept Harris' seasoned viewpoint or somehow see through it and remain true to his ideals.
'Training Day' is filled with scenes of great dramatic intensity, often times based on some legitimate moral dilemma that Jake finds himself confronting. The mercurial nature of Harris' behavior keeps us as bewildered and off guard as it does Jake, for like him, we really don't know what exactly Harris wants or where he is coming from. Such moral ambiguity is a sign of powerful storytelling and Ayer deserves a great deal of credit for bringing some depth to an overworked genre. However, at times the film feels a bit forced and strains credibility just when we most need to believe in its truthfulness. This is particularly the case in a scene in which Jake is about to be blown away in a bathtub and receives a last minute reprieve in the form of a coincidence too preposterous to be even slightly believable. Moreover, some of Harris' actions - though valid for the point that the film is trying to make perhaps - seem highly unlikely in the real world. The overall effect of them is to throw the audience out of the movie just when we are most eager to go where we feel it is taking us. However, these are minor quibbles about a film that works so well for so much of the time.
As this is the film that won Washington his Academy Award, we must not fail to mention the superb performances delivered by both him and Ethan Hawke as Jake. Washington, generally relegated to 'good guy' roles, proves himself a deft villain in this case, displaying the many intricate coils of his seething, cobra-like character. In many ways, though, Hawke does the more impressive job, partly because he has been given the less flamboyant role of passive observer. Washington gets to hit all the dramatic heights, yet, it is through Jake's eyes that the audience gets to observe this lethal individual and Hawke provides the understated richness that brings this everyman character to life. As Jake gets more and more intricately ensnared and embroiled in Harris' immoral actions, we can't help but identify with the ethical plight being thrust on this man who just wants to do what he knows – or thinks he knows – is right. These two fine actors provide the explosive, symbiotic partnership that brings the screenplay to vivid life.
Director Antoine Fuqua makes each moment count dramatically, whether it be a tense confrontation between Harris and Jake over an issue of great moral consequence or a subtle moment of quiet reflection as Jake contemplates his next move.
Despite the fact that the film seems to strain a bit at the edges (one wonders what Jake's SECOND day on the job will be like), 'Training Day' provides more food for thought than your average cop buddy movie – and much, much finer acting.