Reading the plethora of reviews decrying an implausible plot full of holes and inconsistencies left me dumbfounded. I saw the movie and everything made perfect sense. So to allay our reviewers' skepticism about the plot, I will create a Son of No One Cheat Sheet that I feel should neatly explain the story.
Jonathan White (Channing Tatum), the protagonist of the story, killed two junkies in 1986 when he was a kid living in the projects. A main criticism by our reviewers is that he killed in self-defense and would have beaten the rap. The first killing was probably in self-defense, however the second killing was definitely not. He killed the person out of rage, which is manslaughter. Besides he was in the process of committing another crime, robbery. However you look at it, young Jonathan if caught would definitely be spending some time in Juvie. After all, our criminal system is not very lenient to poor people from the ghetto. (If you don't believe me, ask someone from there.) But lucky for Jonathan, his deceased father's police partner (Al Pacino), the future police commissioner, was the detective investigating these murders. He new young Jonathan committed the crimes, but instead of arresting his partner's son for the killings, he looked the other way declaring the case closed. Now fast forward to 2002, Jonathan a rookie cop living on Staten Island with a wife (Katie Holmes) and adorable ailing daughter (Ursula Parker). His wife is upset because Jonathan gets transferred to where he committed the killings, some two hours away from Staten Island. He is never home and his wife thinks he is having an affair. (This is not far-fetched; it happens all the time.) The plot thickens when an ardent anti-establishment local reporter (Juliette Binoche) publishes anonymous letters slowly revealing this cover-up. And here lies the second bone of contention for our reviewers. Why would the letter writer reveal this secret? Because she was protecting her home from the cops intimidating the local residents in favor of land developers. After all, river front property is worth more than the lives of poor people. It is called gentrification. By revealing a cover up by the police commissioner would definitely hurt the police crackdown on the projects. So how did Jonathan end up at the same precinct where he committed these crimes? He was transferred there by the precinct Captain (Ray Liotta) in the hopes that either he would kill the person writing the letters or take the fall for the killings therefore protecting the police commissioner. The police Captain undertaking this deed was politically aligned with the current commissioner and was next in line to become the commissioner. If this cover-up was revealed, it word definitely hurt his chances of becoming the commissioner. Everything in this story is plausible with no holes.
Actually the biggest holes surrounding this movie are brought to you by our very own reviewers who often miscredit actors and blatantly copy/paste from one another, or hide behind words like "implausible' or "full of holes" without elaboration. There is actually a stream of recent reviews citing the previously edited Sundance version of the movie. Oops! you did not actually watch the new version! You did not do your job. And you still got paid for the review! How can I get that job.
Jonathan White (Channing Tatum), the protagonist of the story, killed two junkies in 1986 when he was a kid living in the projects. A main criticism by our reviewers is that he killed in self-defense and would have beaten the rap. The first killing was probably in self-defense, however the second killing was definitely not. He killed the person out of rage, which is manslaughter. Besides he was in the process of committing another crime, robbery. However you look at it, young Jonathan if caught would definitely be spending some time in Juvie. After all, our criminal system is not very lenient to poor people from the ghetto. (If you don't believe me, ask someone from there.) But lucky for Jonathan, his deceased father's police partner (Al Pacino), the future police commissioner, was the detective investigating these murders. He new young Jonathan committed the crimes, but instead of arresting his partner's son for the killings, he looked the other way declaring the case closed. Now fast forward to 2002, Jonathan a rookie cop living on Staten Island with a wife (Katie Holmes) and adorable ailing daughter (Ursula Parker). His wife is upset because Jonathan gets transferred to where he committed the killings, some two hours away from Staten Island. He is never home and his wife thinks he is having an affair. (This is not far-fetched; it happens all the time.) The plot thickens when an ardent anti-establishment local reporter (Juliette Binoche) publishes anonymous letters slowly revealing this cover-up. And here lies the second bone of contention for our reviewers. Why would the letter writer reveal this secret? Because she was protecting her home from the cops intimidating the local residents in favor of land developers. After all, river front property is worth more than the lives of poor people. It is called gentrification. By revealing a cover up by the police commissioner would definitely hurt the police crackdown on the projects. So how did Jonathan end up at the same precinct where he committed these crimes? He was transferred there by the precinct Captain (Ray Liotta) in the hopes that either he would kill the person writing the letters or take the fall for the killings therefore protecting the police commissioner. The police Captain undertaking this deed was politically aligned with the current commissioner and was next in line to become the commissioner. If this cover-up was revealed, it word definitely hurt his chances of becoming the commissioner. Everything in this story is plausible with no holes.
Actually the biggest holes surrounding this movie are brought to you by our very own reviewers who often miscredit actors and blatantly copy/paste from one another, or hide behind words like "implausible' or "full of holes" without elaboration. There is actually a stream of recent reviews citing the previously edited Sundance version of the movie. Oops! you did not actually watch the new version! You did not do your job. And you still got paid for the review! How can I get that job.