Movie Review for We Own the Night (2007)

Click Poster to Purchase


Review #543 of 365
Movie Review of We Own the Night (2007) [R] 117 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $11.25
Where Viewed: United Artists Denver Pavilions Stadium 15, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 12 October 2007
Time: 5:30 pm
DVD Release Date: 12 February 2008 (click date to purchase or pre-order)
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer

Soundtrack: Download now from Wojciech Kilar - We Own the Night - or - order the CD below

Directed by: James Gray (The Yards)
Written by: James Gray (The Yards)

Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line) • Eva Mendes (Ghost Rider) • Danny Hoch (Lucky You) • Alex Veadov (Neighborhood Watch) • Oleg Taktarov (Miami Vice) • Dominic Colon (Freedomland) • Moni Moshonov (Forgiveness) • Mark Wahlberg (Shooter) • Robert Duvall (Lucky You)

Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Read the spoiler points for We Own the Night
View Photos and News from the Premiere of We Own the Night
Robert Duvall serves as one of the Chiefs of Police, Burt Grusinsky, for a New York City Department outside Manhattan circa 1988. His older son, Joseph (Mark Wahlberg) has dutifully followed in his father's footsteps after his mother's death. Baby brother, Bobby (Joaquin Phoenix), now using his mother's family surname of Green, has done just the opposite. Bobby has been 'adopted' into a Russian family whose 'Godfather' Marat Buzhayev (Moni Moshonov) owns a fur importing business and a wildly successful night club which Bobby now manages known as El Caribe. Both sons are very good at what they do and have bright futures except for one small problem. El Caribe is the known hangout of Vadim Nezhinski (Alex Veadov), the nephew of Marat as well as the number one priority of Joseph Grusinsky's new anti-drug task force. At a party to honor Joseph, Bobby hauls along girlfriend, Amanda Juarez (Eva Mendes) who has not yet been introduced to now semi-estranged Bobby's family. The meeting does not go well as they take Bobby aside and inform him of their plans to go after Vadim Nezhinski. Of course, Bobby claims to know nothing, and doesn't pick up on the fact that the meeting is a hint that he should get out of Dodge until this thing blows over. Which, of course, is why he ends up getting arrested along with many other dope-possessing patrons of the club when Joseph conducts his raid. Unfortunately, Vadim turns up clean, and while they suspect that Marat is the ring leader, tailing him 24 hours a day, 7 days a week has turned up nothing but routine trips to places like a riding stable with his grandchildren. The raid, however, sets in motions events that will shape the next few months of their lives with mostly tragic results.

While on the surface and even in some advertising for the film might tend to entice fans of the 2006 Academy Award®-winning film, The Departed, We Own the Night, written and directed by James Gray, and named after an NYPD special police task force shield logo which reads "We Own the Night" as part of the police slogan, is not based on a Hong Kong police thriller. Instead of being a thriller at all, the film is really about brotherhood, being a dutiful son, and making decisions to put family first. Perhaps, if it had been sold this way, the film would not seem quite as much of a disappointment. But, if one is expecting a grittier, darker, The Departed, forget it. There's nothing that special or secret going on here. The cards are pretty much on the table. The surprise arrives only in the choices Bobby makes, and throughout most of the history of Western civilization, his choices wouldn't have seemed at all that surprising. The story actually, is fairly routine and far less sophisticated plot-wise than a regular episode of CSI:Miami. Worse, though, is that James Gray hasn't done much to develop characters about whom we can really care that much. These are predominantly archetypal characters pulled straight off the rack at Big and Odd Lots. Burt feels bad because he's obviously doted on Joseph his whole life practically ignoring Bobby after their mother's death. It's classic second child syndrome. Really, Burt's married to the police department. Again, classic, been there done that. There's even a scene later in the film when Joseph will admit to Bobby being envious of his freedom to be whomsoever he wanted to be and not have to be in his father's footsteps or shadow. Oh my. The 'bad' guys have to be Russian and immigrants, of course. Mark Wahlberg's talent is basically wasted as he spends roughly half the film in a hospital bed, and Robert Duvall has a few choice lines, but he spends most of the time sort of walking on eggshells trying to get the brothers to understand each other. It is only Joaquin Phoenix who stands out much for breathing some real life into his character. Yet, even he seems weary in his role as if he's just not all that excited about the story, which, actually could not even in its best moments be considered exciting. And poor Eva Mendes, it's not clear why she'd take this role as Bobby's girlfriend. She a very confusing character who prizes her familial relationships above all as well but comes across as being everything you really wouldn't want in a potential wife: a history of rumors of a raucous past, a fairly obvious current drug problem, and the fundamental inability to keep your location secret when you are in protective custody to prevent you from being killed by some very, very, very nasty Russian hit men. Her character is about as interesting and sensible as the cheap date she comes across as; and, certainly, the role fails to showcase much of any of her real talent either. Sorry, but, also getting Ed Koch to play the mayor, may have seemed like a cool idea, but it just seemed ridiculous when it played out onscreen.

The one area where the We Own the Night succeeds is cinematography. The film correctly looks like the gritty, dirty streets of NYC of the times. The poster is in black and white, and the movie may be remembered as being black and white as well for so much of it is lifeless, cold, and dark. Had James Gray found a way to ensconce the story with the problems of living life in black and white terms, when the world is really grey, he might have found himself writing and directing a far more interesting film.

Send This Review To a Friend
Related Products from Amazon.com
Other Projects Featuring We Own the Night (2007)
Cast Members
Joaquin Phoenix • Eva Mendes • Danny Hoch
Alex Veadov • Oleg Taktarov • Dominic Colon
Moni Moshonov • Mark Wahlberg • Robert Duvall
Director
James Gray
Writer
James Gray
Poster
CD Soundtrack
DVD
VHS


Review-lite We Own the Night (2007) [max of 150 words]
James Gray presents what turns out not to be the successor to The Departed but, rather, an emotional drama about brothers and the choice they make in their lives called, We Own the Night,. Joaquin Phoenix plays the rebel and Mark Wahlberg plays the dutiful son of Police Chief Burt Grusinsky (Robert Duvall) as the trio must deal with the consequences of Russian drug imports infiltrating their fair city. Unfortunately, the lifeless script and archetypal characters possesses little to capture the imagination or induce empathy in the audience. These people are relatively shallow souls who do relatively expected things. Phoenix delivers the most with his character, but even he seems too weary. No one seems to find being in this film any more interesting that most of it is to watch.
Send This Review To a Friend
Reviewed by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)