Parents' Guide to

Pride and Glory

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Mature crooked-cop drama is no Departed.

Movie R 2008 125 minutes
Pride and Glory Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 17+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Elizabeth H.
Elizabeth H. Parent of 10-year-old
November 10, 2022
age 17+

Gritty, not appropriate for children

Extremely dark movie with a lot of bloody violence. Absolutely not for kids, but could be a good talking point for older teens to broach the subject of corruption and dishonesty within police forces.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much violence
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
grizmaster1981
grizmaster1981 Adult
June 11, 2010
age 18+

We should change it to "no Kids"

It is a good movie but if you are gonna prohibit swearing in your house DON'T let your kids watch this movie until you are prepared to hear them curse this movie has enough f-bombs to rival the power of Mt St Helens. And there is a lot of other bad words in the film too. I guarantee you if you let a kid watch this they will be saying f--- in no time.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much swearing
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In PRIDE AND GLORY, Edward Norton plays Ray Tierney, a conflicted, second-generation NYPD officer whose older brother Frannie (Noah Emmerich) and brother-in-law Jimmy (Colin Farrell) are also among New York City's Finest. When a suspicious shoot-out leaves four officers in Frannie and Jimmy's precinct dead, Ray reluctantly agrees to join a task force to investigate the murders. What he discovers, much to his high-ranking father's (Jon Voight) horror, is that Jimmy and his station's cronies sell their services and protection to the highest-paying thugs on the streets they patrol.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3):
Kids say (1):

While much of the story is predictable, the movie is saved by the performances, especially Norton's and Emmerich's. And Farrell is alternately nuanced and over-the-top but ultimately excels as the shady, unrepentant Jimmy. Unfortunately, things get bogged down by the personal subplots involving the women in the cops' lives, especially the unresolved relationship between Ray and his estranged wife, Tasha (Carmen Ejogo). Jennifer Ehle, who's a brilliant, underrated actress reminiscent of a younger Meryl Streep, does her best as Frannie's cancer-stricken wife, but essentially, the women are one-dimensional.

The most realistic aspect of director Gavin O'Connor's story is how seamlessly he integrated the Dominican gang culture of New York's Washington Heights into the picture. The soundtrack features several songs by popular Latino rappers and Reggaeton stars; the Spanish-speaking characters are actually played by native speakers who can spit out streams of colloquialisms without taking a breath. Granted, it might still be considered un-PC to depict a community as full of gun-toting dealers, but at least O'Connor paid attention to the neighborhood. But that sliver of authenticity can't make up for the fact that this is an overlong crime drama that takes itself too seriously and obviously aims for the heights of Martin Scorsese's The Departed but falls somewhere slightly below the mark of We Own the Night.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the characters' various moral dilemmas. The men were stuck between loyalty to their brothers in blue -- not to mention their actual family -- and their duty to serve and protect. Even unethical characters aren't completely villainous. What motivated Jimmy and his crew to become corrupt? What do you think would have happened if Ray had made a different decision? How is this movie similar to other cop dramas? Do you think this kind of movie needs to include strong violence to be seen as realistic? Why or why not?

Movie Details

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