Spenser Confidential
I do like Mark Wahlberg when he walks a bit on the funny side. It’s about time he and Peter Berg did together.
Peter Berg hasn’t made a film without Wahlberg since 2012’s “Battleship”- that’s “Lone Survivor,” “Deepwater Horizon,” “Patriot’s Day,” “Mile 22” and now “Spenser Confidential.” I’m not saying they’re Hitchcock and Cary Grant, but I will say that some of my favorite dramatic performances of Wahlberg’s have been under Berg’s direction. He’s a solid filmmaker if you want action, suspense and drama, especially if it involves real-life situations, and that’s because story and character often come first, even if it’s something absurd like “Battleship.” It’s what separates him from the filmmaker I often liken him as the thinking man’s version of, Michael Bay, and it’s why I don’t mind seeing he and Wahlberg indulge in some silliness together.
This film, which is actually based on a novel by Ace Atkins and Robert B. Parker, starts with Spenser (played by Wahlberg) beating the crap out of the police captain (Michael Gaston) at his home. Spenser is a cop, as well, and the incident results in him losing his badge, and going away to prison for five years. The very day he gets out, Captain Boylan is murdered, and it’s set up to look like another police officer (Brandon Scales) did it, although Spenser’s former partner (Bokeem Woodbine) has to check and make sure Spenser has an alibi for it. He does, but something doesn’t add up, and he ends up investigating it on his own- even as a disgraced cop, Spenser is an honest one, and cannot let another officer’s memory be sullied by this.
“Spenser Confidential” follows along a buddy cop formula where the other half of the team, in this case, is Spenser’s roommate, Hawk (played by Winston Duke), another ex-con whose been taken in by Henry, Spenser’s friend played by the terrific Alan Arkin. Wahlberg and Duke make a great team together, and Duke is becoming a favorite actor of mine to see in a film. The story, written for the screen by Brian Helgeland and Sean O’Keefe, is razor thin, and the script doesn’t give them much great material, but their onscreen presence makes the film one worth watching, even if it’s just once. Berg and Wahlberg can go back to more serious subjects together; they’re better suited for it.
