The Ryan Gosling Crime Thriller Epic Everyone Forgot

A period piece as well as a thriller, Gangster Squad transports audiences back to organized crime-ridden Los Angeles in 1949, where and when it’s no exaggeration to say the city’s soul is at stake. The City of Angels suffocates in the vice-like grip of mob kingpin Mickey Cohen (played admirably by Sean Penn). For those light on West Coast gangland-era history, Cohen is a former boxer turned merciless gangster who oversees not only the city’s illegal activities but also the wide world of police and politics. In other words, the man is untouchable.

A period piece as well as a thriller, Gangster Squad transports audiences back to organized crime-ridden Los Angeles in 1949, where and when it’s no exaggeration to say the city’s soul is at stake. The City of Angels suffocates in the vice-like grip of mob kingpin Mickey Cohen (played admirably by Sean Penn). For those light on West Coast gangland-era history, Cohen is a former boxer turned merciless gangster who oversees not only the city’s illegal activities but also the wide world of police and politics. In other words, the man is untouchable.

Enter Sergeant John O’Mara (portrayed by Josh Brolin), a WWII veteran renowned for his incorruptibility and the smooth-talking, womanizing Sergeant Jerry Wooters (our man Ryan Gosling), whose dynamic enriches Gangster Squad noticeably. Both are handpicked by Chief Bill Parker (played by Nick Nolte) to assemble a secret unit undertaking a critical mission: dismantling Cohen’s criminal empire. 

Other members of their elite squad include steely sharpshooter Max Kennard (Robert Patrick), tech expert Conway Keeler (the always-excellent Giovanni Ribisi), and the wise-cracking purveyor of comic relief Coleman Harris (portrayed ably by Anthony Mackie). Together, the squad—and narrative—hurtle through a succession of high-tension scenes as the crew employs veritable guerilla tactics to disrupt Cohen’s inductive. 

Such escapades include targeting the gangster kingpin’s casinos, letting loose his imprisoned enemies, and intercepting his shipments of drugs. Indeed, there’s little Ryan Gosling and his team in Gansger Squad won’t resort (perhaps stoop?) to—but each victory involves escalating brutality on both sides. 

All of which becomes interwoven with a complex romantic subplot concerning Wooters and Cohen’s etiquette coach-slash-lover, Grace Faraday (the fantastic Emma Stone). Their illicit relationship—as if rehearsing their explosive chemistry in La La Land—threatens the already perilous mission. Beyond potentially jeopardizing the squad’s secrecy, it also locates Grace in a deadly love triangle. 

As Cohen begins to uncover the extent of the threat against him, violent confrontations ensue. While Ryan Gosling must increasingly confront the moral implications of his actions and that the rest of the team in Gangster Squad.

Director Ruben Fleischer, beloved for the horror-comedy extravaganza Zombieland, achieved a visually striking film in this gangster flick. The movie’s production design went to impressive lengths to meticulously recreate the glitz and grimness of post-war Los Angeles. The costumes, the neon-lit streets, the atmospheric jazzy clubs—everything evokes a deep sense of place and time, immersing audiences in a noir-inspired, stylized vision of the city’s past.

Critical reception was, however, somewhat mixed. While the aesthetic, action sequences and performances (notably Ryan Gosling’s) earned praise for Gangster Squad, the film still garnered criticism for its historical inaccuracies and conceivably clichéd narrative. Some opined that the film fell short of engendering a sufficiently profound statement on crime and justice (which are, admittedly, heavy themes) despite retaining a gritty charm and action-packed pace. 

At the box office, the movie faired moderately well, although it failed to capture genuine blockbuster status. Shot on a budget of around 60 million dollars and making approximately one hundred million, it certainly returned a profit—but perhaps less than a film boasting such a star-studded cast would typically earn. 

Interestingly, the film was loosely based on the real-life exploits of the actual (though, sadly, Ryn Gosling-free) LAPD Gangster Squad. Like in the movie, the historic and legendary squadron was tasked with defending Los Angeles from mobsters such as Mickey Cohen. The film takes enormous creative liberties but still captures at least part of the essence of the struggle between the LAPD and organized crime. Similarly to the movie, the historical LAPD anti-gangster squad functioned in secrecy. It also delved into comparable degrees of moral ambiguity. 

Ultimately, like the Coen brother’s gangster epic, Miller’s Crossing, or HBO’s classic series Boardwalk Empire, the movie conveys the style and savagery—the glitz and grit—of perhaps a more mythological period in the annals of American organized crime. Don’t let it remain forgotten!