The Badge

{{Infobox film

| name = The Badge

| image = Poster of the movie The Badge.jpg

| caption =

| director = Robby Henson

| producer = John Morrissey

| writer = Robby Henson

| starring = Billy Bob Thornton
Patricia Arquette
William Devane

| music = David Bergeaud

| cinematography = Irek Hartowicz

| editing = Michael J. Duthie

| studio = Emmett/Furla Films
Millennium Films
Nu Image Films
Propaganda Films
The Turman-Morrissey Company

| distributor = Millennium Films
Gold Circle Films
Starz! Network
Lions Gate Films

| released = {{Film date|2002|09|07}}

| runtime = 103 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget =

}}

The Badge is a 2002 mystery-thriller film directed by Robby Henson and starring Billy Bob Thornton, Patricia Arquette and William Devane.

Release

The Badge was originally intended to be distributed by Propaganda Films, but the production company went bankrupt during the film's post-production.{{Cite news|last=Brennan|first=Patricia|date=2 September 2002|title='The Badge' Finds a Home With Starz|newspaper=LA Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-sep-02-et-brennan2-story.html|access-date=15 December 2002}}{{Cite news|last=Cox|first=Dan|date=21 November 2001|title=The End of Propaganda|work=LA Weekly|url=https://www.laweekly.com/the-end-of-propaganda/|access-date=15 December 2020}} It was later released on DVD by Lionsgate Films.{{Cite news|last=Chaw|first=Walter|date=5 February 2017|orig-year=2004|title=The Badge (2002) - DVD|work=Film Freak Central|url=https://www.filmfreakcentral.net/ffc/2017/02/the-badge-2002.html|access-date=15 December 2020}}

Synopsis

La Salle Parish, Louisiana Sheriff Darl Hardwick investigates the controversial local murder of a transgender woman,{{Cite book|last1=Powrie|first1=Phil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pcBvU9GWaUQC&q=the+badge+2002+film+henson&pg=PA202|title=The Trouble with Men: Masculinities in European and Hollywood Cinema|last2=Davies|first2=Ann|last3=Babington|first3=Bruce|publisher=Wallflower Press|year=2004|isbn=978-1-904764-08-3|location=London and New York|pages=202–203|language=en}} with the highly sensitive matter being concealed as much as possible by the parish's most influential figures, such figures even going so far as to frame Hardwick for statutory rape involving a local waitress. With his career as sheriff at an end, Hardwick takes a personal stake in the investigation after becoming acquainted with Scarlett, the victim's widow. Hardwick heads down a somewhat reckless path to understanding the victim's world, reconciliation for past sins, and a series of dark truths within the parish itself.

Reception

The Badge holds a 33% rating on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, based on six reviews.{{Cite web|title=The Badge|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/badge|access-date=15 December 2020|website=Rotten Tomatoes|date=7 September 2002 }}