End of Watch

End of Watch (2012) follows two patrol officers in Los Angeles, and there is no large plot; it shows the working day. Brian and Mike share a car. Their days are calls: a domestic fight, a missing child, a burning building. The conversations between them are the real body of the film; they needle each other constantly in the car and that needling builds a friendship. Then a routine search turns up something unexpected and it draws a cartel's attention. The form is mixed. Brian carries a camera for a school project; there are also dash cameras, chest cameras and the gang members' own phones. But the film does not hold strictly to the rule; there are shots with no camera to justify them, and that inconsistency was criticised. David Ayer grew up in Los Angeles and began by writing police films; the detail comes from there. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña prepared for months: they rode along on real patrols, trained with weapons and in fighting, and spent a great deal of time together. The ease between them is visible and carries the film. The final section is harsh and deliberately merciless. It runs 109 minutes. Good for: police films, stories about friendship, and realist storytelling. Less good for: the violence is sudden and graphic, and the handheld camera may be uncomfortable.