Broken City (2013 film)

Directed by	Allen Hughes
Produced by	Randall Emmett
	Mark Wahlberg
	Stephen Levinson
	Arnon Milchan
	Teddy Schwarzman
	Allen Hughes
	Remington Chase
Written by	Brian Tucker
Starring	Mark Wahlberg
	Russell Crowe
	Catherine Zeta-Jones
	Jeffrey Wright
	Barry Pepper
Music by	Atticus Ross
	Claudia Sarne
	Leo Ross
Cinematography	Ben Seresin
Editing by	Cindy Mollo
Studio	Regency Enterprises
	Emmett/Furla Films
	Inferno Distribution
	1984 Private Defense Contractors
	Black Bear Pictures
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	January 18, 2013
Running time	108 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$35 million
Box office	$25,547,416

PLOT

NYPD detective Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg) is arrested for the murder of Mikey Tavarez, who raped and murdered sixteen-year-old Yesenia Barea but walked on a technicality. His superior officer, Captain Carl Fairbanks (Jeffrey Wright), goes to Mayor Nicholas Hostetler (Russell Crowe) with a witness and evidence. Hostetler buries the evidence, and a judge clears Taggart as having shot Tavarez in self-defense. The mayor calls Taggart to his office for a private meeting and calls him "a hero," but Taggart is still forced to leave the police.

Seven years later, Taggart is living with his girlfriend, Natalie Barrow (Natalie Martinez), an aspiring actress. Taggart's private detective business is on the verge of bankruptcy when Hostetler hires him to investigate a romantic affair that his wife, Cathleen Hostetler (Catherine Zeta-Jones), is having. Helped by his assistant, Katy Bradshaw (Alona Tal), Taggart learns that Cathleen is seeing Paul Andrews (Kyle Chandler), the campaign manager of Hostetler's rival in the upcoming elections, Jack Valliant (Barry Pepper).

At a fundraiser for Hostetler's campaign, Cathleen reveals to Taggart that she knows he has been following her, advising him not to trust her husband. Hostetler gets the envelope with the pictures Taggart has taken of Cathleen meeting with Andrews. Not long thereafter, Andrews is found murdered.

Taggart admits to Fairbanks that he had been hired by Hostetler. They go see Valliant, who reveals that Andrews was meeting Todd Lancaster (James Ransone), son of Hostetler's wealthy benefactor, contractor Sam Lancaster (Griffin Dunne). A furious Cathleen explains to Taggart that Andrews was a close friend, not a lover, who had promised her information about Hostetler's plans for the Bolton Village Housing Project, a deal that would enrich Sam Lancaster and the mayor. Hostetler wanted to find out Cathleen's source, so he manipulated Taggart into working for him.

At a film debut party, Natalie reveals to others that her real name is Natalia Barea, and Yesenia was her sister. At the screening, Taggart is shocked at Natalie's sex scene, strongly disapproving of it, thinking that it would have been a scene of poetic love, not a porn-like scene. Combined with guilt over Hostetler, Taggart descends back into his former drinking bouts, arguing with Natalie both over the scene and about people she associates with during her work, so she breaks off the relationship. He decides to investigate the Hostetler corruption and learns that Sam Lancaster's construction business has sold Bolton Village in order to have it demolished and replaced by high-rise office buildings, leaving hundreds of impoverished people homeless for his own profit. Taggart is pursued in a car chase by Hostetler's men, who damage his vehicle and destroy the evidence he had acquired.

Taggart then visits Todd Lancaster, who says he intended to give Andrews a copy of the demolition contract as evidence against Hostetler on the night Andrews was murdered. He now gives it to Taggart instead. Taggart confronts Hostetler, who is unfazed because he has kept video evidence that Taggart murdered Tavarez in cold blood. Since there is no statute of limitations on murder, Taggart can still face prison time.

Willing to be arrested to prevent the reelection of Hostetler and the demolition of Bolton Village to the detriment of the poor, including Natalie's family, Taggart comes forward with the evidence. Hostetler in turn leaks the tape proving Taggart's guilt. Fairbanks comes to arrest Hostetler, in the process revealing it was he who was having an affair with Hostetler's wife. In the film's epilogue, Taggart is seen being led away by his superior officer as he says his goodbyes to Katy, hoping they can be reunited after his release from prison.

SCREENSHOTS