This entry was posted on Sunday, October 14th, 2007 at 8:33 am and is filed under Action, Drama, Mob, Crime and Scam Movies, Movie Reviews, NEW ON VIDEO, W. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Director: James Gray
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Eva Mendes, Mark Wahlberg, Robert Duvall, Danny Hoch, Alex Veadov,
We Own The Night, named for the NYPD Street Crimes Unit’s slogan is a dark film, written and imaginatively directed by James Gray. The acting is good and most of the main characters are well developed, though some of supporting characters, particularly Veadov’s main villain could have been more interesting. The screenplay is similarly uneven with natural dialog and an interesting premise, but lacking in focus, as it darts around in a successful effort to be unpredictable, and, like most movies, has a few scenes that really don’t make too much sense. Without giving anything away, ask yourself this, why would the bad guys feel the need to show him everything?
Joaquin Phoenix is the star here as nightclub manager, Bobby Green. Green’s career is on the rise and his life is a non-stop party, fuelled by drugs, money and booze. At least until a police raid on his club lead by his brother, Joe Grusinsky, in an attempt to get something on a slippery Russian drug dealer, Vadim Nezhinski, turns Bobby’s world upside down. Nezhinski hangs out (and presumably does business) at the popular nightspot, which is owned by his uncle (Bobby’s boss). Bobby, whose father, Burt (Robert Duvall) is the police chief has not shared any info about his family’s business with his shady, new friends, so he soon finds himself in an awkward position, that soon becomes a very dangerous position. Look for the stunning Eva Mendes in a solid role as Bobby’s girlfriend and enjoy one of the better car chase scenes that I’ve seen in awhile. The story is a head scratcher (why would he do that?) from time to time, but still plays well enough to work.
Imagine a movie that starts out like 54, but turns into The Departed and you will have some idea of what to expect here. The film has its faults, but mob movie fans will find it likable enough. This seems to be the year in which the Russian mob muscles the Italian mafia out of Hollywood. I suppose they seem more original and menacing these days, but I kind of miss hearing a few ‘fuggedaboutits’ and hearing characters named Tony and Paully saying “Ohhh, Ayye”, but what can you do? The final episodes of The Sopranos come out in a couple weeks, so I still have that to look forward to. In the meantime, We Own The Night will do.
