Training Day
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| Training Day | |
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| Directed by | Antoine Fuqua |
| Produced by | Bruce Berman and Davis Guggenheim |
| Written by | David Ayer |
| Starring | Denzel Washington Ethan Hawke Scott Glenn Eva Mendes Tom Berenger |
| Music by | Mark Mancina |
| Cinematography | Mauro Fiore |
| Editing by | Conrad Buff IV |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. (USA) |
| Release date(s) | October 7, 2001 |
| Running time | 122 Min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Training Day is a 2001 film starring Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris, a corrupt LAPD police officer, and Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt, his new green recruit looking to become a part of Harris's Narcotics unit. The entire movie takes place over a single, intense 24-hour period in Los Angeles that changes the lives of both officers. The movie was written by David Ayer and directed by Antoine Fuqua, both of whom grew up in gang neighborhoods.
Fuqua wanted Training Day to look as authentic as possible, and he shot on location in some of the most infamous neighborhoods of Los Angeles, California. He even obtained permission from gangs to shoot in the notoriously dangerous Imperial Courts housing project. His crew ended up receiving a warm welcome from local residents, who were all happy that a movie was being made that showed some of the regular life that exists in their world. When Fuqua wasn't able to shoot a scene directly on location, he recreated these locations on sets.
There were two police officers on hand as technical advisors, Michael Patterson and Paul Lozada. Cle Shaheed "Bone" Sloan served as the gang advisor. Washington, Hawke and other cast members also met with undercover police officers, local drug dealers and gangbangers to help them understand their roles better.
Denzel Washington's portrayal of Alonzo Harris gathered glowing praise from the critics. Fuqua wanted his character to be seductive and part of a machine, and not just a random rogue cop. In Washington's own words,
- "I think in some ways he’s done his job too well. He’s learned how to manipulate, how to push the line further and further, and, in the process, he’s become more hard-core than some of the guys he’s chasing."
In the movie Harris shows a liking towards Hoyt, and in many ways he sees Hoyt as a younger version of himself, naive and idealistic before being hardened by harsh realities of police work and street life, before turning into a morally questionable individual himself.
Training Day brings up a moral dilemma of committing little crimes to prevent large ones and getting things done effectively even if it is not done the right way. Denzel Washington won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Ethan Hawke was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Training Day also features appearances by Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger, Harris Yulin, Eva Mendes and musical artists Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Macy Gray.
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[edit] The story
The movie, as the title suggests, follows a single day in the life of a young LAPD cop Jake Hoyt (Hawke) as he is subject to a single day evaluation by Alonzo Harris (Washington), a highly decorated LAPD police narcotics officer to see if he has what it takes to be a 'narc'.
During the first few moments of Jake's pairing with Alonzo, it becomes quickly apparent that Jake's 'by the book' dictum is in stark contrast to Alonzo's philosophy of blending in with the street. The two detain college students buying marijuana from a dealer. Alonzo does not arrest the students but takes the marijuana they purchased. Jake is put into a compromising position when Alonzo offers him a hit of marijuana that is, unknown to Jake, laced with PCP, telling him that a good narcotics officer must have "narcotics in his blood." Jake refuses but Alonzo threatens him by pointing a gun at his head telling him it is a huge mistake to turn down the "gifts of the streets" and a drug dealer would have killed him for turning down the marijuana. Alonzo then wants to throw Jake out of the car telling him that he won't want him on his unit. Jake gives in and smokes the marijuana.
Alonzo then takes Jake to the home of a drug dealer, Roger (Scott Glenn), whom Alonzo has a close relationship with. As they're cruising down the street, Jake notices a female high school student being attacked by two men in a side alley. Jake jumps out of the car and saves the girl, while Alonzo only watches. Jake wants to arrest the men and get a statement from the girl but Alonzo tells the girl to go home and leaves the two men out on the street, though he intimidates one with his guns and knife, eventually pistol whipping the rapist in the testicles. Alonzo also confiscates the crack the rapists were carrying. As Jake leaves the scene he finds the girl's wallet, but Alonzo does not see this, as he has already gone back to his car.
During the rest of the day, Alonzo brings Jake further and further into the world of the 'street' as he harasses a drug dealer named Blue (Snoop Dogg) and gets information from him about a drug dealer named Sandman. He then searches Sandman's home without a warrant (using a Chinese restaurant menu as his 'warrant') with Sandman's wife (Macy Gray) in the house. He then takes Jake to the Jungles to meet his Salvadoran mistress, Sara (Eva Mendes), and their young son. He establishes to Jake that the gang members in the housing project all respect him. When Alonzo meets with three high ranking police officers, Stan Gursky, Doug Rosselli, and Lou Jacobs, otherwise known as the "Three Wisemen," (Tom Berenger, Harris Yulin, Raymond J. Berry) in a restaurant, it's clear from their conversation that Alonzo has bigger problems than breaking in a new rookie, although he seems to have a handle on this other situation: he owes the Russian Mafia one million dollars for killing one of their couriers in Las Vegas. He receives permission from the three wisemen to move against Roger.
Later in the day, Alonzo's schemes come to bear fruit. Working with his officers in his unit who are also corrupt - with Jake part of the mission - Alonzo goes back to Roger's home and kills him. He takes Roger's money which was hidden underneath the floor of his kitchen. Alonzo will use the money to pay off his debt to the Russian mafia. Alonzo then wants to pin the shooting on Jake. When Jake refuses, Alonzo threatens him by saying that if he doesn't go along with the plan, Jake will be discredited as the PCP he smoked earlier is still in his blood. Jake finally snaps: he takes Alonzo's shotgun and points it at Alonzo himself. Alonzo talks him down by saying that it appears that Jake is harder than he thought.
Afterwards Alonzo and Jake discuss the shooting of Roger. Jake expresses his dismay at the way Alonzo operates, to which Alonzo replies that it is simply the way things are for narcotics officers. He offers Jake some of the money that was taken from Roger, but Jake refuses.
Once it become clear to him that Jake will no long abide by the Blue Wall of Silence, Alonzo takes him to the home of a Latino gangster named "Smiley," who is playing poker with two other gang members, Sniper and Moreno. They appear to be friendly and invite Jake to join the game; he relunctantly obliges, unaware that Alonzo has left him there by himself. In fact, the entire situation is another of Alonzo's set-ups: he has contracted Smiley and his group to execute Jake. Smiley informs Jake of Alonzo's situation with the Russian mafia - and his departure; the gangsters begin to intimidate Jake, who realizes what's going on and lashes out, fighting to escape. The gangsters quickly overpower him and drag him into the bathtub to obliterate his face with a shotgun. However, they find a wallet on him, which belongs to the girl Jake had saved earlier in the day - who also happens to be Smiley's cousin, Letty. After Smiley speaks with his cousin over the phone and realizes that Jake had saved Letty from being raped, he calls of the hit. Smiley thanks Jake for "taking my little cousin's back."
Jake, angry at being set up, goes back to Sara's apartment. Despite the strong disdain towards police officers in the housing project, the gang members there allow Jake entry into Alonzo's apartment after Jake tells them he has to settle an issue with Alonzo (whom they in truth despise for his high-handed ways). Jake goes to Alonzo's apartment and attempts to arrest him, but Alonzo catches him by surprise and a violent confrontation ensues. After a gunfight through the apartment and cat-and-mouse game on the rooftops, Alonzo knocks Jake unconscious and attempts to drive to his appointment with the Russian mafia. However Jake prevents Alonzo from leaving by diving on the hood of his car, ultimately giving Jake the upperhand when Alonzo crashes and hits his head. Gang members and residents from the project come to watch the conflict as Jake pummels Alonzo and pulls him out of the car. Alonzo assumes that the gang members will assist him, but instead, only one man sets a gun on the ground behind Alonzo, telling Alonzo that he has to "put his own work in." Alonzo is confident that Jake won't shoot him, so he turns around to grab the gun. But as Alonzo bends down to pick it up, Jake shoots him in the buttocks and then says that "the next one will kill you." The gang members let Jake walk away with the money and an incensed Alonzo rails at the gang members and residents, angrily shouting "I'm the police, I run shit here! You just live here!" The crowd eventually walks away from his ranting in disgust, knowing he no longer has control over them.
Alonzo is driving around the LAX airport area when he's surrounded by hooded men from the Russian mafia, who open fire on his car and kill him. The movie ends with Jake's pulling into his driveway and going home to his family, while a radio broadcast tells of Alonzo's death - reporting it as occurring 'in the line of duty' during the drug raid earlier that day, instead of the more sordid truth.
[edit] Best Actor Academy Award controversy
A limited number of African Americans have commented critically on the fact that Denzel Washington was awarded the Best Actor Academy Award for performance in this particular film.[1] Washington has long been regarded as one of the most talented and capable African-American actors working in Hollywood, and his Best Actor award was only the second awarded to an African-American actor in 43 years and 38 years after Sidney Poitier's 1963 award for Lilies of the Field. Washington had been a contender for the Best Actor award since his 1992 performance in Malcolm X, and speculation had followed his nomination for 1999's The Hurricane. Prior to this film, Washington had been known for almost universally playing sympathetic and heroic protagonists. While in no way criticizing or diminishing Washington's powerful performance, the fact that Washington won the award for this particular role, portraying a violent and corrupt villain in a film centered on themes of inner-city gang and drug activity, has been highlighted as indicative of Hollywood's, and society at large's, stereotypical and prejudicial views of African-Americans.
Rap performer Jadakiss' 2004 song "Why?" contained the line "Why'd Denzel have to be crooked before he took it?"
However, having lost to Sean Connery (The Untouchables, Best Supporting Actor, 1987), Al Pacino (Scent of a Woman, Best Actor, 1992) and Kevin Spacey (American Beauty, Best Actor, 1999)—also well respected actors in critically acclaimed films—there is no conclusive evidence that the color of Washington's skin was a factor in his losses or wins.
It is ironic; however, that the same night Denzel was finally awarded the statuette, African American actors also received both the honorary award and the best actress award (Sidney Poitier and Halle Berry, respectively).
[edit] Trivia
- Screenplay sold on spec for $1 million dollars.
- Mel Gibson was originally offered the part of Alonzo.
- Denzel Washington's character drives a black 1979 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
- The coffee shop in the beginning of the movie, called Quality Cafe, appears in many movies, including Se7en, Ghost World, Gone in Sixty Seconds, and Catch Me If You Can.
- This movie marked the first time L.A. street gangs allowed cameras to be brought into the Imperial Courts neighborhood. The crew also filmed in Hoover Block.
- The movie's script was altered to add some aspects of the Rampart Scandal, which happened after it was written.
- Denzel Washington's character looks were designed to resemble Rafael Perez's, who played a central role in the Rampart Scandal.
- This marks one of the first movies where Washington plays a villain.
- About 30% of Washington's dialogue was improvised.[citation needed]
- This movie was parodied to a 5-minute segment of Chappelle's Show. The parody involves Wayne Brady and Chappelle cruising in a neighbourhood to show Brady's "real" side. There is a segment of the skit very remeniscent of when Alonzo "convinces" Hoyt to smoke marijuana laced with PCP.
- An extended ending shows that Jake Hoyt (Hawke) knew the entire time the truth behind Alonzo's actions, and that he was coerced by the 'three wise men' to bring him down.
- The movie was alluded to in the video for Lil' Scrappy's "No Problem" with Snoop Dogg in the role of "Blue" again.
