The Glass Shield

In this crime drama, an honest lawman has to decide where his loyalties lie in a corrupt system. All his life, J.J. (Michael Boatman) has dreamed of being a cop, and after graduating from the Police Academy, he gets his wish, becoming the first African-American policeman based out of Los Angeles' ...more

After making a comeback of sorts with the relaxed, atmospheric To Sleep with Anger, veteran independent filmmaker Charles Burnett applied his skills to issue-oriented cop melodrama with The Glass Shield. The marriage is an odd one, but it ultimately works: Burnett's tendencies toward the ponderous and philosophical add depth to what could have had the tone of a TV movie-of-the-week. Though the film's central character is rookie cop J.J. (Michael Boatman) -- whose idealistic notions of police ...more