High-Caliber ‘Mod Squad’

Don’t go to “The Mod Squad” expecting a replication of the TV series that ran from 1968 to 1973, for director Scott Silver and his co-writers have delivered something better than nostalgia. Using the series premise, which takes three young people in trouble with the law and gives them the chance to straighten themselves out by becoming undercover cops, Silver creates a portrait of three engaging individuals trying to get their lives together.

Julie (Claire Danes), arrested for assault; Pete (Giovanni Ribisi), for robbery; and Linc (Omar Epps), for arson, are loners who have been taken under the wing of tough but avuncular Capt. Adam Greer (Dennis Farina) of the LAPD. Defending his decision to give them a second chance, Greer points out to precinct skeptics that “they can get in a thousand places we can’t.”

Specifically, he wants the trio to investigate reported drug dealing and prostitution at a popular downtown L.A. club. This routine assignment, however, triggers a flurry of plot developments that leaves them in danger from corrupt policemen as well as criminals. The three, who have begun to respond to the concerned discipline and direction of Greer, are suddenly stranded. Their only hope of survival is to pull together, and in fact the entire point of the plot is to build to Linc’s observation: “We can’t trust anybody; it’s just us.”

Danes, Ribisi and Epps are all on the threshold of major careers, and there’s no way they would have accepted this film if it didn’t offer them substantial roles. Julie, who has beaten a drug habit, and Linc have developed the kind of focus and sense of responsibility that suggests a career in law enforcement is theirs if they want it. Pete, a screwed-up Beverly Hills rich kid, who’s smart, sweet and likable, is also such a loose cannon you have to wonder how Greer can trust him with any kind of assignment. Should he make a mistake it could cost not only his life but Julie’s and Linc’s as well.

In Julie, Pete and Linc, who are as well-played as their characters are well-written, we recognize the sense of betrayal and disillusionment they experience, along with their feelings of isolation and vulnerability, as universal, transcending the workings of a thriller plot with a premise that is gimmicky at best. (Did these three, you have to wonder, go through any kind of police academy training before being turned loose on the streets?)

In any event, Silver directs his stars with an assured sense of neo-noir style and pace, set off by some welcome humor, much of it provided by Michael Lerner’s eccentric, exuberant rock promoter. Josh Brolin makes as vivid an impression as Danes’ smooth, handsome former boyfriend who unexpectedly reenters her life. Farina’s strong presence lends credibility to the very notion of his special squad.

Cinematographer Ellen Kuras and production designer Patrick Sherman give the film a cool, deliberately impersonal urban atmosphere, creating the feeling that the film could be unfolding anywhere. And if Silver plays real people against a formula plot, then composer BC Smith plays a remarkably rich score, incorporating a wide range of songs, against an admirably lean movie. “The Mod Squad” is a great-looking picture that zips along with grace, light on its feet but possessed of just enough gravity to allow us to take its people rather than its old TV series premise seriously.

* MPAA rating: R, for language, violence and some sexuality. Times guidelines: language, violence and sex standard for the thriller genre.

‘The Mod Squad’

Claire Danes: Julie

Giovanni Ribisi: Pete

Omar Epps: Linc

Dennis Farina: Greer

Josh Brolin: Billy

Michael Lerner: Howard

An MGM Pictures presentation. Director Scott Silver. Producers Ben Myron, Alan Riche, Tony Ludwig. Executive producers Aaron Spelling, David Ladd. Screenplay by Stephen Kay & Scott Silver and Kate Lanier; based on characters created by Buddy Ruskin. Cinematographer Ellen Kuras. Editor Dorian Harris. Music BC Smith. Costumes Arianne Phillips. Production designer Patrick Sherman. Art director Andrew Max Cahn. Set decorator Patricia Elias. Running time: 1 hour, 34 minutes.

In general release.