We Own the Night Reviews

(MU) Where were we when Gray made this, where was Gray when making this? More tnah a policial drama, its a melodrama of filiation. A son trascending his father, betray of his woman (even Eva Mendes is great), big ending in nature....

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Since I really loved James Gray's debut, 'Little Odessa', I have watched all his flicks and I was expecting a lot from this one. Furthermore, it is one of the most catchy title I have ever seen, the cast was quite awesome and the story seemed intriguing enough. Eventually, it turned out to be his most disappointing movie so far... I don't mean that it was bad, absolutely not. The directing was awesome as usual, the cast (Joaquin Phoenix, Eva Mendes, Mark Wahlberg, Robert Duvall) was pretty good and they all delivered some decent performances, especially Joaquin Phoenix (thank God he dropped the whole retirement/hip-hop career/hoax thing....). The main issue was with the story. I mean, it starts out as a gripping gritty crime drama with the 2 brothers standing each at the opposite side of the law and I was rather hooked but then, in the second half, the whole thing just turned into some big nonsense. Indeed, after Wahlberg gets shot, Phoenix who used to be some lowlife gangster, suddenly became instantly a cop and goes into a quest to avenge his brother and father and eventually kills a whole bunch of bad guys... It was really preposterous and, honestly, I kind of lost interest in the whole thing afterwards. Still, it remains a very well made crime drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in James Gray's work like I do.

I happened to catch this movie last night on one of my off days after missing it in theatres and curiousity to see how the movie was. I had just finished watching American Gangster and this movie gave me the same kind of feel; a carless drug and alcahol induced club full of fun and dancing with smiles across the floor. After the manager's brother busts in with his drug task force, Bobby Green is dragged out and humiliated in front of his his paying guests; leaving him very pissed off and full of charcoal and ink. Leaving the precinct fresh out of a fight with his brother, then shortly after finding out his brother has been shot; Bobby puts aside all the petty bullshit and decides to join his father and set up the drug lord responsible for the attack and hospitialization of his brother. Denied his request; Bobby goes behind his fathers back and sets up Vadim Nezhinski and gets him, but also lands himself in the emergency room after being discovered as a sting and forced to jump out of a window. Alot of things have been taken from this point and alot of dues have had to been payed for Bobby Green; going from a happy night club manager to a man under protective custody who always has to look behind his back to make sure there's no one lurking to take in life in the shadows. Very bold and selfless in mind for him to have done this, considering the values many people have on lives these days. The quote written below was one of the best lines said in the movie and a turning point from the main character, completley changing the way he sees things. To be honest, I have never liked Joaquin Phoenix in a single role before this (tolerated him in Signs) but he really stuck out in this one; not using evil and preying on the protagonist but being one himself and maturing as a character before your eyes on the screen. Whether or not that was good acting or good dircetion is up in the air.. I overall liked the movie. I woulden't go out and buy this, but definetly a rental or catching it on a movie channel are both appropriate.

Joseph Grusinsky: Remember. It's better to be judged by twelve people, than carried by six.

We Own The Night's script was truly phenomenal for an American production, because, let's face it, more than half the time American movies are made of lousy script-writers: there are usually a whole lot of flaws, or reactions/attitudes from characters are totally unrealistic or just plain stupid.
This film's main theme is not new. But the way the script was written - up until 1h30 into the movie, anyway - is accurate, and makes a whole lot of sense. The characters' reactions. Their expressions. The dialogs. Unfortunately after 1h30, the script deviates into nonsense, nonetheless leading to a pretty decent ending.

Why else watch this film? Why, a wonderful cast of course! Wahlberg and Phoenix are truly amazing as two brothers. And Robert Duvall as their father is simply amazing, but isn't he always?

A very typical American mafia movie, but definitely one worth seeing.

We Own The Night isn't just another standard cop drama; at the films heart is a fascinating study into how people react in extreme circumstances. It's family loyalty versus trust in your friends. As always blood runs thicker than water.

Thanks to James Gray's directing style and a trio of deft performances from Messrs Phoenix, Wahlberg and Duvall things are just as substantial above the surface as they are under the hood. If you're an eighties kid then you're sure to the love the soundtrack too.