Directed by:
James GrayScreenplay:
James GrayCinematography:
Joaquin Baca-AsayComposer:
Wojciech KilarCast:
Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, Robert Duvall, Antoni Corone, Moni Moshonov, Олег Тактаров, Alex Veadov, Danny Hoch, Tony Musante, Dominic Colón (more)VOD (1)
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What if your own family stood in the way of everything you worked for? Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix) has forsaken his name to escape his family and their tradition in law enforcement to pursue his ambitions as a Brooklyn nightclub owner. As he turns a blind eye to the drug dealers around him, he comes face to face with the family he abandoned when his brother (Mark Wahlberg) and father (Robert Duvall) crack down on the club. Now Bobby must choose a side. Is he going to turn informant or will he help run the biggest crime ring in New York history? (Columbia/Sony)
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Reviews (14)
A very good thriller with a perfect cast, a tense atmosphere and an interesting plot. From beginning to end the film is accompanied by style, brutality, Russian mafia, drugs and a lot of great scenes, especially the one in the drug den and the chase on the rain. Those who haven't seen it catch up immediately. For me, a lot of great satisfaction. 80%.
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How did this gem escape my attention for so long? I happened to come across it recently and must admit that James Gray surprised me. We Own the Night boasts flawless stylization. The creators truly succeeded in capturing the 1980s retro atmosphere perfectly. Moreover, I can’t overlook the cast. Joaquin Phoenix was outstanding, but even Robert Duvall, as the father of the main character, contributed significantly with his years of experience in the industry. Surprisingly, I was also pleased with the story. I was genuinely expecting another tired, clichéd plot, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case. The screenplay played cleverly with the audience, like a cat with a mouse. And that chase scene, where the focus is solely on the sound of the windshield wipers with an unpleasant screeching in the background? A masterfully directed moment (and emotionally powerful). The raid on the drug den also had its charm (I was holding my breath there). The film truly offers a lot, and I can definitely recommend it. For me, it’s an 8/10.
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Quite a pleasant surprise in the end. James Gray has improved quite a bit, after the previous very boring, almost TV-like The Yards this is way better. At times pretty suspenseful (the visit to a drug den, the car chase in the rain), at times ridiculously theatrical; overall a better 3*. The bloodless Wahlberg is much neglected, Eva Mendes serves as mere decoration, basically the whole thing is pulled by a superb Phoenix, it’s a terrible shame that he plays in so few films.
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From the first scene, it is clear that Bobby likes having matters in his own hands. That certainty, which sharply diminishes from the first plot twist (to the point of notably wandering through smoke), reflects the doubtfulness of the United States at the end of the 1980s. Though, in the spirit of the Cold War, the villains are Russians (Soviets), nationality ceases to be a determinative, distinguishing feature for the emerging multicultural melting pot. The important things are attitudes, politics and, in particular, relationships. Relationships within families and “families”. The law is an obstacle. Only two things connect Bobby with the much more scrupulous Joe: the authoritarian character of their father and religion. In order to find the way to his brother, Bobby has to reassess his attitude toward both. The primary attraction of We Own the Night is not one and a half action scenes, but rather the thought processes of the well-drawn protagonists. The actors and the confining environment that envelopes them make watching their change in behaviour an absorbing experience. Crime is everywhere around them; only tight-knit families are safe. From the film’s long sequences, you sense something bad coming and you know that what is supposed to happen is going to happen. This fatalistic “givenness” of everything that occurs gives the film elements of ancient tragedy, including suffering in slow motion. Only a few dim-witted moments have a detrimental effect on American mainstream attitudes to the notably slow, sad and penetrating crime story (a moment ago you were almost a drug dealer, but now we’ll let you be a cop, because you have to pay your debt). Otherwise, I recommend watching Gray’s preceding film, The Yards, which elaborates a similar theme and with its cast (Wahlberg, Phoenix) also has a lot in common with We Own the Night. 75%
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The uncompromising and refreshingly straightforward path of personal transformation (the only point of contact with The Departed, the oft-cited similarity simply eludes me), which James Gray brings to an emotionally intense conclusion and demonstrates that gangsters are not, and will not be dead for a long time. The perfect atmosphere makes you feel on your own skin what it's like to have one foot on the right side of the law and at the same time scrape the bottom of a pit full of mud.
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