Flashback to the 1940s, back to a decade ruled by war and governed by prosperity, every man trying to make himself known in a world where money talked and people listened. But beneath the glamorous surface lurked a cold threat: ruthless mobsters with nothing to lose and everything to gain. One such mobster was notorious ex-boxer Mickey Cohen, and his uncensored story has never been publicly exposed in modern media until now.
After hitting theaters on Jan. 11, “Gangster Squad” has proven to be an enlightening depiction of the real 1940s, harsh with discreet violence in a dog-eat-dog world. Starring Josh Brolin, Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, “Gangster Squad” is based on the book “Tales from the Gangster Squad” by Paul Lieberman, which was in turn written as a documentation of actual occurrences. The real characters, most having passed away several years ago, come to life once more in this harrowing tale of good-cops-turned-rogue on a mission to eliminate the threat of gangsters in order to save the city.
The story takes place in 1940s Los Angeles, Calif. Summoned by the police chief, Sgt. John O’Mara (Brolin) is instructed to assemble a team of men to wage guerrilla warfare on the elusive but influential Mickey Cohen (Penn). The only rule is that there are no rules in this deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The select few that volunteer for the job are well aware that there will be no extra compensation and no publicity whatsoever; they are willing to sacrifice their lives to protect the budding city of Los Angeles, Calif., a city that deserves hope and the promise of a future. They will not receive credit for the capture of Mickey Cohen if their mission is successful. The plan is to merely continue their lives, nameless heroes performing an anonymous deed.
Enter Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Gosling), a cynical young officer with no particular desire for violence, disheartened by World War II and unwilling to impose a different kind of war on his home, a seemingly safe city. But not all that glitters is gold, and after witnessing the random murder of an innocent child caught in the crossfire of a turf war, Wooters decides to put all of his chips on the table. Meanwhile, O’Mara recruits four other men to serve alongside him in this battle of epic proportions. Wooters, on the other hand, forms an alliance with one of Mickey Cohen’s rivals – a rising gangster by the name of Jack “the Enforcer” Whalen, known in real life for his claim to be so tough that he didn’t need a gun.
As the movie delves deeper into the underground world of gangsters and their lust for power, the fine line between good and evil starts to blur at the margins. One begins to wonder what makes this death machine team of cops and loners better than a close-knit ring of Mafia dons and mobsters. Because they both have one thing in common: the ability to kill without remorse in order to control Los Angeles, Calif., regardless of their motivations for doing so.
The movie portrays the original Gangster Squad as six lethal officers wielding Tommy guns and instigating wild, gruesome shootouts within view of the public eye. It is implied that Mickey Cohen is their solitary target, when in reality the Gangster Squad was after all of the crooks who threatened their paradise. There were actually eight members of the Squad, and Sgt. O’Mara was actually his church’s head usher on Sundays, an ironic role considering the unspeakable acts of violence he was committing behind the scenes. While the movie took creative liberties in its representation of the pursuit of Mickey Cohen, the actual event of Cohen’s apprehension was unexpected and quite humorous.
