Nailing the gritty procedural drama is something of an art, and there was perhaps no director ever more qualified thanSidney Lumet, the director of such films as12 Angry Men,Dog Day Afternoon, andThe Verdict.With such an impressive filmography, it’s both an inevitability and a shame thatone of the legendary director’s most biting films is often sidelined. Based on Robert Daley’s novelTainted Evidence, Lumet’sNight Falls on Manhattanisthe story of a rookie assistant district attorney who unwittingly uncovers a web of police corruption, including his father’s potential complicity, while navigating the moral dilemmas of justice and loyalty.Like the bulk of his films,Night Falls on Manhattanreflects Lumet’s career-spanning interest in social injusticein a world where the line between right and wrong is blurred.
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A botched NYPD raid on the apartment of notorious drug dealer Jordan Washington (Shiek Mahmud-Bey) results in the injury of several police officers, including Detective Liam Casey (Ian Holm). This, in addition to the sensational way Washington turns himself in, sets the stage for a trial that soon becomes a media spectacle. Hoping to curry some public favor, New York District Attorney Morgenstern (Ron Leibman) assigns ex-cop turned assistant DA Sean Casey (Andy Garcia), son of Detective Casey, to prosecute Washington as something of a publicity stunt.
Sean secures Washington’s conviction despite his inexperience, though Washington’s defense attorney, Sam Vigoda (Richard Dreyfuss), points to potential police corruption during the trial, hinting that Sean’s conviction may be built on compromised evidence and unethical practices. This catapults Sean’s career at the same time that cracks in the case begin to emerge: it becomes clear that the overwhelming number of police officers involved in the raid, including Sean’s father and his partner Joey Allegretto (James Gandolfini), had ties to Washington, and Sean is confronted withupsetting truths about his father’s involvement in systemic corruption within the NYPD.
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Night Falls on Manhattanis certainly not the film to watchif you’re looking for all conflict to be wrapped up with a bow. Lumet usesManhattanto explore themes of loyalty versus integrity,the morality of looking the other way in the face of glaring truth, and the cost of doing the right thing. These play out through Sean Casey, and the way the newly elected district attorney becomes increasingly disillusioned with the system he’s propping up, as his own investigation into the events surrounding the raid on Washington’s apartment only uncovers deeper layers of corruption within the NYPD and the justice system. Sean spends the film grappling with his duty to his father and his duty to his city, andopinions on the morality of the decision he comes to will certainly vary by viewer.
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Lumet, throughout his filmography, has always been interested inflawed systems and those who rise to challenge them, but never in a straightforward way. InNight Falls on Manhattan, Sean ascends from cop to rookie attorney to prominent public figure in a short period of time, andthe seductive nature of this rise to power, in addition to his ties to the NYPD, temporarily blinds him to what is obvious to those around him. He discovers the NYPD to be rife with corruption, and though Sean did not intend to aid this corruption, he still finds himself complicit. Lumet, in this exploration,avoids painting any one character as “good” or “evil”. Liam Casey is a good and loving father, worshiped as a hero by his son, but this does not change the fact that,as a police officer, he is morally compromised. Sean, who is the moral heart of the film, still spends its runtime struggling with the personal consequences of staying true to his own values while upholding the law and seeking justice.
Filled with nuanced storytelling, Lumet’s crime drama is athought-provoking portrayal of the systemic challenges faced by those who come up against systems of power, especially systems that protect them and those they love.What responsibility do we, as individuals, have to confront corruption?Can our own integrity survive a corrupt system?Night Falls on Manhattanbrilliantlyweaves a story of moral ambiguity, refusing to compromise on its message by the film’s end.
Night Falls on Manhattanis available to stream on Apple TV+
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Night Falls on Manhattan
