Jon Bernthal's walking doom dirty cop headlines HBO's fierce miniseries
Arguably his career best work.
Wayne Jenkins walks around like doom met a tornado and fell in love, creating a dangerous swagger in the process. Moving across the Baltimore Gun Trace Task Force Unit like a shark-a brazenly dangerous presence that consumes and never changes-Jenkins is the top dog in the city, a rotten apple. A cop who can decide to pull you over simply by the make and model of the car, or the color of one’s skin. But before he lets you go, any cash or drugs in your possession will now belong to him.
HBO Max’s “We Own This City” bites down hard on the potent and ever-so-timely racial tension currently broiling across our country. It pays tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement and digs deep into the police department’s methods of destruction. Combining respect for and sage experience with the territory-George Pelecanos and David Simon helped create another show called “The Wire"-this miniseries packs a hard punch and features top-notch action, none more impressive than Jon Bernthal.
He makes Jenkins the poison pill in the middle of a battlefield, someone so deadly that even his closest friends and officers exist in a bubble of trepidation around him. A larger-than-life personality whose brain has been overwhelmed by greed and green, Bernthal plays him like a live wire unkempt to the law, not justice.
The problem is that his brand of justice has been bent so much, the pipe is now a horseshoe. In a sea of great film and television work, Bernthal has proven that he can be a great scene-stealer in any genre. But it’s Jenkins that has shown a new shade of ability, or shall I say ferocity?
He’s always had the fire, but not quite this kind of stage. He’s not just a former good guy broken wrong like Frank Castle, or a former rodeo cowboy turned motel owner with some heroism in his blood. Jenkins is the other side of the spectrum--more Alonzo Harris in “Training Day” than Eldon Perry in “Dark Blue.”
Bernthal gets to mix it up with strong performers such as Josh Charles, Darrell Britt-Gibson and McKinley Belcher III, all portraying an unusual band of brothers in a city destroyed by corruption and a half-baked “war” on drugs. Rocking a warped 80s hair band dropout, Jenkins has the demeanor and posture of a man who is so confident in his way of life, he forgets about the law he took an oath to uphold.
While he may not own “We Own This City,” Bernthal does cast a nice spell in the one and done season, which concludes on Monday. The Washington D.C. native leans into the role, carving out his best work yet--which is saying something, especially considering his recent workload. Saying Bernthal is tireless is like saying I’m just a mere fan of coffee.
Along with “We Own This City,” Bernthal will headline Showtime’s television remake of “American Gigolo,” a complete 180 from Jenkins. But 2021 was a highlight reel for him. He was tennis pro Rick Maci in the Oscar-winning “King Richard;” Johnny Soprano in the underrated “Many Saints of Newark;” the good friend Swaino in “Small Engine Repair.”
Think of his noble cop Ethan in Taylor Sheridan’s underseen “Those Who Wish Me Dead” as the true mirror performance gauge for Jenkins. One is the good-hearted badge who gives his life to help save his ex-girlfriend, played by Angelina Jolie. A smaller role, but one that the actor quickly threw his own shade on. Jenkins is the other side of the coin apart from Ethan, a bad dog in a dirty world.
“We Own This City” concludes its lone season on Monday, which will surely involve Jenkins’ patented lack of awareness. In the teaser for the series finale, he is so naïve when questioned by the prosecuting FBI team, it’s almost laughable. “I’m innocent,” a notion the audience can quickly dismiss after viewing the pilot episode.
Bernthal keeps you locked, breaking bad to give Pelecanos and Simon’s series the extra foot on the gas it needed to get its message across in just one season.