The Badge (2002)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Robby Henson

Writer:

Robby Henson (written by)

Release Date:

7 September 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

A small town sheriff. A big city murderer.

Plot:

A sheriff (Thornton) begins an investigation into the death of a local transsexual after hearing that high ranking politicians may have been involved...

Plot Keywords:

Transsexual | Crooked Official | New Orleans Louisiana | Gay Interest | Neo Noir

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Billy Bob Thornton	...	Sheriff Darl Hardwick
Patricia Arquette	...	Scarlett
William Devane	...	The Judge
Sela Ward	...	Carla Hardwick
Julie Hagerty	...	Sister Felicia
Marcus Lyle Brown	...	Deputy Jackson
Ray McKinnon	...	Deputy C.B.
Tom Bower	...	Bull Hardwick
Audrey Marie Anderson	...	Teenage Waitress
John McConnell	...	Ornell
J.C. Sealy	...	Rhonda Hebert (as J.C. Seally)
Ron Flagge	...	Gooch
Huey Alexander	...	Cletus
Deana Carter	...	Sherry
Mark Krasnoff	...	Squeegee

Also Known As:

Behind the Badge (USA) (working title)
Behind the Sun (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and sexual content.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Norway:15 | Spain:13 | USA:R | Portugal:M/12 | Iceland:16 | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Emmett/Furla Films

Trivia:

Cindy Ingraham who is listed in the credits as "Additional Props" also has the byline on the newspaper article announcing that Judge Pendergast has resigned in the sex scandal.

Pi on "The Badge"

Billy Bob Thornton plays Darl, a homophobic sheriff in Louisiana who finds himself trying to solve the murder of a trans-gender lingerie model named Mona. Mona is survived by his / her wife Scarlett, played by Patricia Arqueutte. At first, Darl is apathetic and indifferent about the case, allowing his prejudices to cloud is professional duties. Complication matters is the fact that the office of sheriff is up for re-election, and the Mayor has decided to run another candidate for the job, unseating Darl as he had done to Darl's father years before. The movie has an excellent plot, and benefits from strong performances from William Devane (who plays the Mayor) and of course from Thornton himself.

Badge is more than just a who-dunnit. It is also a glimpse into a part of our society that many people never see. Don't miss "The Badge". 8/10