Public Disorder is an Italian series on Netflix that follows a team of mobile unit Riot Cops over the course of a few volatile weeks. The well-oiled Rome team is called to the north to help the local police with a protest that has turned violent. When tragedy strikes, and internal affairs investigates, it creates a rift in the team. Meanwhile, a new leader steps in, with mixed results. Public Disorder may remind you of the Danish hit The Unit, which also followed a mobile team of law enforcement officers, and dipped into their personal lives as well as their work lives.
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Riot cop, son of a bi$ch
A riot cop has to be one of the worst jobs in law enforcement. You have to be strong enough to hold back a seething mob, alert enough to watch for incoming projectiles, and patient enough to not beat the snot out of an obnoxious protestor yelling obscenities in your face. You don’t solve cases, you don’t really help anyone, and you are criticized on the news if you are too tough or too lax. It’s thankless. The reward is belonging to a tough, well-trained, loyal team, which the Rome team is. On the way to jobs, the team chants “Riot Cop, Son of a Bi$ch” over and over to fire themselves up. When they head up north to stop a protest over a high-speed train, their leader is gravely injured (not a spoiler). The team’s restraint snaps and they go after some protestors. We don’t see what happened exactly, but an investigation is opened on the team, with each member having to decide between loyalty or conscience. For some, there’s no question, but others struggle with the issue, creating a fissure in what was once a rock-solid team.
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The Characters
Nobili (Adriano Giannini) is a riot cop from up north that was brought in to take over the Rome squad. It’s not an enviable position. The higher-ups want to change the culture of violence followed by ass-covering. He has a teen daughter that gets into some trouble, leading to major distractions at home. The veteran cop on the team, beside the injured leader, is Mazi (Marco Gialinni). He is a tough SOB at work, but he goes home to an empty house filled with well-tended plants. He is the number one target for the prosecutor, and he is NOT a fan of Nobili, who he’s known for years. Marta (Valentina Bellé) is a single mother with a tween daughter who wants to spend more time with her father. Marta tries to limit her daughter’s time with her dad without spilling damaging secrets about him. When one of the protestors they attacked slips into a coma, some team members have conflicting feelings about telling the truth.
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Our Take on Public Disorder
I really enjoyed the way Public Disorder was made. They use hand-help cameras for the riot scenes, which makes them feel realistic and claustrophobic. The soundtrack contributes to the tension, but can also be overkill. The cast is a who’s-who of Italian actors, and it’s nice to see Marco Giallini take on a character different than the cranky, lovable Rocco Schiavone. The writers did a fantastic job of showing the intimacy among the team before the tragedy. BS-ing in the van on the way to a job, chanting, helping each other with their gear, and even their perfectly choreographed moves on location quickly establish the camaraderie among them. It’s interesting to watch a show about law enforcement that ISN’T a mystery to be solved. If you like a well-made show that’s character driven, then Public Disorder is for you.
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