Set in the Los Angeles Police Department in April 1992, Dark Blue is a dramatic thriller that takes place just days before the acquittal of four white officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King and the subsequent L.A. riots. In this racially-charged climate,the LAPD’s elite Special Investigations Squad (SIS) is assigned a high-profile quadruple homicide. As they work the case, veteran detective Eldon Perry, known for his tough street tactics and fiery temper, tutors SIS rookie Bobby Keough in the grim realities of police intimidation and corruption.
Meanwhile, Assistant Chief Holland, the only man in the department willing to stand up to the SIS, threatens to end Perry’s brand of singlehanded “justice” on the Los Angeles streets. While navigating through the tumultuous neighborhoods of South Central L.A., Perry and Keough must track down cold-blooded killers and face their own demons, which prove to be more ruthless than the criminals they pursue.
Dark Blue is a film directed by Ron Shelton and starring Kurt Russell. The film is based on a story written for film by crime novelist James Ellroy and takes place during the days leading to and including the Rodney King trial verdict.
Set in Los Angeles, in April 1992, Dark Blue takes place from a few days before and during the acquittal of four officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King and the subsequent L.A. riots. The film begins with footage of the Rodney King beating and switches to a scene showing Sergeant Eldon Perry (Kurt Russell) pacing in a motel room. Perry grabs a shotgun and pistol, and then the film cuts to a scene with two men in a car five days earlier, Darryl Orchard (Kurupt) and Gary Sidwell (Dash Mihok), appear to be robbing a convenience store, when they are actually after a safe in the room above the store. Four people are murdered in the robbery and one severely wounded. The story then shifts to Detective Bobby Keough (Scott Speedman), who is in a Gun Board hearing in relation to an application of deadly force. His partner, Perry, defends him, and the two leave.
Perry, Keough, and Jack Van Meter (Brendan Gleeson) are all sitting in a room when they find out that Keough is exonerated. Jack Van Meter is Keough and Perry’s superior and a man of poor moral character—he often has his subordinates fabricate stories and evidence. It is later discovered that Perry killed the man that the Gun Board thinks Keough killed, meaning Perry and Keough perjured themselves earlier. Later that night Van Meter goes to Orchard and Sidwell’s house and takes the money the two stole from the safe, indicating that the two work for him. That night Keough is shown having sex with a woman who is also a police officer (Michael Michele); the relationship is casual, and they do not reveal their surnames to one another.
Directed by: Ron Shelton
Starring: Kurt Russell, Ving Rhames, Michael Michele, Scott Speedman, Brendan Gleeson, Lolita Davidovich, Khandi Alexander
Screenplay by: David Ayer
Production Design by: J. Dennis Washington
Cinematography by: Barry Peterson
Film Editing by: Patrick Flannery, Paul Seydor
Costume Design by: Kathryn Morrison
Set Decoration by: John Leimanis, David Smith
Music by: Terence Blanchard
MPAA Rating: R for violence, language and brief sexuality.
Studio: United Artists
Release Date: February 21, 2003
