History Film / CopLand

* DoggedNiceGuy: Freddy.

* IdiotBall: Yes, the shooting was unjustified and Murray was driving drunk and Donlan's group used corrupt means to cover up what really happened, but it was still a ''very'' dumb move for the motorist to [[ShootHimHeHasAWallet brandish a steering wheel lock at Murray]] as if it was a rifle ''after'' Murray showed him his badge, which should have clued him in that Murray could be armed.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Tilden may sound like an asshole when he grills Freddy about not really being a cop and not having much to do in patrolling the town, but he is right the locals have no respect for his authority, and due to the town being populated with cops, criminals just avoid it at all costs.

* ConscienceMakesYouGoBack: Figgsy, on the highway driving away to start a new life, yells at someone (obviously himself/his own conscience) to shut up and leave him alone, and then angrily hits the brakes and drives back to Garrison, having resolved to go back and help Freddy.

* LoopholeAbuse: Tilden explains in his opening narration how transit cops were the only cops allowed to take up residence outside of New York (since the Transit Authority is partly run by New Jersey and Connecticut), Donlan's group worked overtime in subway stations to get themselves designated "auxiliary transit cops", which allowed them to set up shop in Garrison.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Garrison, New Jersey, is depicted as a relatively rural-looking town that just so happens to be across the river from New York City. In truth, towns and localities immediately surrounding New York (a city of close to 9 million people, mind you) are heavily urbanized.

* ConscienceMakesYouGoBack: Figgsy, on the highway driving away to start a new life, he yells at someone (obviously himself/his own conscience) to shut up and leave him alone, and then angrily hits the brakes and drives back to Garrison, having resolved to go back and help Freddy.

* BrokenPedestal: Freddy, having a rose-tinted view of New York cops, idolizes Donland and initially lets his men do what they want in his town. This changes as he comes to realize how dirty they really are.

* [[TownWithADarkSecret Town With Dark Secrets]]: Garrison, New Jersey.

Matters around town are complicated when one of its members is involved in a questionable off-duty shooting and goes missing. It doesn't take long for [[InternalAffairs internal affairs]] to come sniffing around in the form of Moe Tilden (De Niro), who thanks to [[JurisdictionFriction jurisdiction]] must rely almost entirely on Heflin for his investigation to bear any fruit. Consequently, Heflin finds himself pulled in multiple directions, as more facts about the case--and about the town itself--begin rising to the surface.

* BadBadActing: Ray yelling, "Oh my God! He jumped!" to fake Murray's suicide is... less than convincing. [[spoiler:It's because he's distracting everyone from the fact that Murray's actually hiding in his car.]]

* BenevolentBoss: Freddy is patient and pleasant with his two deputies and doesn't resent their decisions to [[spoiler:ScrewThisImOuttaHere.]]

* CurbStompBattle: Method Man vs two cops? Method Man KICKS BOTH of the cops asses with ease. He first destroys and cuts up Randone’s partner and then manhandles Randone and throws him off the roof!!!

* DeathByCameo: Subverted: [[Music/WuTangClan Method Man]] makes a cameo [[spoiler:just to kill Joey Randone.]]

* DeceasedFallGuyGambit: The dirty cops plant a gun in the black teenagers's car to confirm Murray's story that they were armed and shooting at him, but it's immediately foiled by an angry paramedic who tosses the gun away.
* DidNotGetTheGirl: Freddy loves Liz (the girl he saved when he lost half of his hearing in the BackStory), but she married another man. [[spoiler:Even after his death, she leaves town while being on somewhat poor terms with Freddy.]]

* ExtremeDoormat: Once again Freddy. His admiration for the NYPD, Ray and the fact he looks the other way when they commit criminal acts just reeks of subservience. Freddy has hearing problems, but his aim with a pistol establishes that his vision is outstanding, so there's no doubt whatsoever that he saw and identified Babitch looking at him in the back of Ray's car. Not to mention he has no problem with the fact they have VERY little respect his authority.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Tilden might sound like an asshole when he grills Freddy about not really being a cop and not having much to do in patrolling the town, but he is right the locals have no respect for his authority, and due to the town being populated with cops, criminals just avoid it at all costs.

* SteelEarDrums: Averted when a firearm discharge is deliberately used to deafen Freddy, who’s already deaf in his right ear. However, it's only temporary, as the ending voiceover mentions.

* [[TownWithADarkSecret Town With Dark Secrets]]: Garrison, New Jersey

* BadBadActing: Ray yelling, "Oh my God! He jumped!" to fake Murray's suicide is... less than convincing. [[spoiler:Because he's distracting everyone from the fact that Murray's actually hiding in Ray's car.]]

* DisneyVillainDeath: Joey Randone gets this off camera.

* KarmaHoudini: Randone's killer gets away with killing him.

* KickTheDog: Ray deafening Freddy. See LaserGuidedKarma below.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Ray fires his gun next to Freddy's left ear to completely deafen him. When Freddy later mortally wounds him in the climatic shootout, his final condemning swears to Freddy go unheard as he points out that [[TheDogBitesBack "I can't hear you, Ray"]].

* BadBadActing: Ray yelling, "Oh my God! He jumped!" to fake Murray's suicide is... less than convincing.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Ray fires his gun next to Freddy's left ear to completely deafen him. When Freddy later mortally wounds him in the climatic shootout, his final condemning swears to Freddy go unheard as he points out that "I can't hear you, Ray".

* KickTheDogMoment: Ray deafening Freddy. See LaserGuidedKarma below.

* PoliceAreUseless: Every other cop who isn't Freddy Heflin is either corrupt or incompetent. Or both.

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler: Joey Randone]] is an [[SmugSnake unpleasant,]] [[DomesticAbuse wife-beating]] thug, so it's easy not to feel too bad when [[spoiler: Ray Donlan lets him fall to his death.]]

* DeathByCameo: Subverted: Method Man of Music/WuTangClan makes a cameo and turns up pretty much only to kill [[spoiler: Peter Berg's character, Joey Randone.]]

* LaserGuidedKarma: Ray fires his gun next to Freddy's ears to completely deafen him. When Freddy later mortally wounds him in the climatic shootout, Ray's final condemning swears to Freddy go unheard as the latter points out he can't hear him.
* NewOldWest: Garrison, New Jersey, is a prime example; director James Mangold has himself cited the film as a neo-western.

* DeceasedFallGuyGambit: The dirty cops plant a gun in the black teenagers's car to confirm Murray's story that they were armed and shooting at him, but it's inmediately foiled by an angry paramedic who tosses the gun away.

** Figgs also qualifies for this as well as he is the only one who takes Freddy seriously and he eventually puts aside his own selfish reasons to help him bring down Ray.

** When Freddy [[spoiler: manages to capture Murray Babitch]], Bill Geisler's expresses a nervous desire to return home to his pregnant wife, rather than stand guard and potentially await the wrath of [[spoiler: Ray and his subordinates]].

* ShootHimHeHasAWallet: The initial shooting happens because a drunk driving Murray thinks one of the victims shot out one of his tires, when in fact the victim was taunting him with a steering wheel lock and the tire was popped by a leftover shard of glass from the beer bottle that Murray crushed while leaving a parking lot. Jack is then caught trying to plant evidence of a gun in the car to try to vindicate him.
* SteelEarDrums: Averted when a firearm discharge is deliberately used to deafen Freddy, who’s already deaf in one ear. However, it's only temporary, as the ending voiceover mentions.