Drama
A Man in Full
Talent and intrigue ultimately can’t cloak the truth about this vulgar, crass and graphic drama on Netflix.
Good morning, Baltimore!
It’s 2017, and Wayne Jenkins has a lock on the city’s criminal-infested streets. While arrest rates have plummeted ever since the killing of Freddie Gray in 2015, his unit, the Gun Trace Task Force, has seen its own arrest numbers rise dramatically. Look at the Task Force’s records or see footage of one of their busts online, and you’d think Wayne and his team are doing a fine job. They don’t care about going viral, and they don’t mind it if they rough up a couple criminals—they just want to get guns and drugs off the street.
At least, temporarily.
As it turns out, there’s a reason why criminals sell illegal drugs and guns, facing dangers of the street and the threat of prison: The business is extremely profitable. Wayne’s no dummy. He knows how much money these criminals can make—way more than a cop can. So Wayne’s unit has decided to sell the materials they confiscate back to the bad guys. They’ve also taken it upon themselves to pocket any money they find in their house raids.
Oh, and those impressive arrest numbers? It turns out that a lot of them come from planted evidence and false reports—and that’s not even mentioning the excessive brutality they use in their arrests.
Though Hairspray informs us that Baltimore’s streets may be filled with dancing rats, those roads are far cleaner than anything that went on in the Gun Trace Task Force.
In 2021, former Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton published his nonfiction book We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops, and Corruption. The book analyzes the evolution of Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF), a group created in 2007 to specifically focus on gun trafficking cases in the city.
Because the small group were focused on a specific part of the crime sphere, they quickly were able to go rogue, planting and selling guns and drugs, robbing homes during invasions and even charging Baltimore for overtime pay that they had never worked. After the DEA began investigating the task force in 2015, they soon had enough evidence to indict and convict eight of its members by 2018.
In disclosing the indictments, U.S. Attorney for Maryland Rob J. Rosenstein described the crimes simply. “This is not about aggressive policing, it is about a criminal conspiracy,” said Rosenstein. “These are really simply robberies by people wearing police uniforms.”
The show itself centers on Sgt. Wayne Jenkins, the leader of the unit who received 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple charges—including racketeering, robbery and falsification of records. As the show depicts, he’s a model cop on the outside but a criminal in private.
“Look, bottom line, if beating on people made cases, I’d tell you, go on out there, kick everybody’s a–,” Wayne tells a group of cadets. “But you know what? It just don’t work like that.” This scene is interspersed with Wayne as he forcefully smashes a bottle out of a man’s hand with his baton.
The problem, however, is that Wayne’s arrest numbers do speak for themselves—something the city can’t deny. They recognize that many of their police officers engage in methods too brutal for a law-abiding officer to usually retain their position. But with arrests down, with cops afraid of going viral when they arrest someone and with crime rates skyrocketing, Baltimore is a bit more willing to turn a blind eye to a violent officer who manages to get a few more criminals off the street, even if it takes a bit of drug planting to do so.
But it’s not just the GTTF that’s full of dirty cops; viewers will also be exposed to the dirty underbelly of Baltimore itself. Illegal guns and drugs are sprinkled across many scenes and are, as the GTTF name would indicate, the central focus of the show. Nudity is present, and the use of hard curse words is extremely frequent.
After a series of overdoses all point to the same supplier, detectives work to catch the distributor. Attorney Nicole Steele begins investigating the large number of unsustained complaints against police officer Daniel Hersl.
In an intro sequence, we see police beat restrained people. We also see images and video of rioting, drugs and a dead body.
Police officer Wayne Jenkins teaches cadets on when police officers should engage in fights with suspects. During a drug bust, Wayne finds many packages containing hard drugs as well as a closet full of firearms. A man drinks from a liquor bottle hidden in a paper bag, and Wayne smashes it with his baton.
Daniel Hersl hits a man in the head and slams him to the pavement after lying that the man touched him. His attack causes the man’s head to visibly bleed. Other men being arrested have blood or bruises on their faces. A cop smacks a man to the ground with his firearm. Two cops attempt to restrain a resisting man. Men rob a house at gunpoint.
A woman is found dead from a drug overdose, and cocaine, ecstasy and heroin are referenced. A large bottle of alcohol is seen on the counter. A police officer tampers with a license plate to justify pulling a man over. Another cop smokes a cigarette and references suicide. There’s general political banter referencing Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and the Republican party.
A man references sexual intercourse and nude photos. A naked woman dances at a club, and her breasts are visible. A waitress carries a bottle of alcohol to a table, and the camera specifically focuses on her clothed rear. A woman kisses a man.
The f-word is used at least 65 times, four of which are preceded by “mother.” The s-word is heard nearly 45 times, and the n-word is used seven times. “A–” is used over 15 times, and “b–ch,” “d–n,” “h—” and “p-ss” are used multiple times as well. A crude word for breasts is heard once as well as one use of “ho.”
There’s one use of the middle finger. God’s name is misused six times and is twice followed by “d–n.” Jesus’ name is improperly used once. A slur for Irish people is heard once. Wayne uses a couple crude references to male genitalia.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Talent and intrigue ultimately can’t cloak the truth about this vulgar, crass and graphic drama on Netflix.
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