Film Reviews

We Own the Night

• Rating:
• Director: James Gray
• Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Eva Mendes, Mark Wahlberg, Robert Duvall
• Details: USA / 117mins (15A)

Bobby Green (Phoenix) is an ambitious New York club manager who is dragged into the crime underworld when the nephew of the club's Russian owner begins using the place as a base for his drug operations - attracting the attention of Bobby's Police Chief father (Duvall) and dedicated cop brother (Wahlberg) who want him to decide which side of the law he lies on. There is an awful lot about We Own the Night that commands respect; from an innovatively handled car-chase about two-thirds of the way through, to a solid central performance from Phoenix - not to mention the gritty and realistic late '80s setting. However, it all feels disappointingly conventional. We spend the vast majority of the time with Bobby and sympathise with his conflict deeply, but we're never given the same expansion of character for his brother or father. This severely affects Wahlberg's performance, as the hugely-competent actor is given nothing to do, other than look intense and thoughtful. There needed to be a balance there, as the film is predominantly about family - but writerdirector Gray chooses to give us more time with Bobby and his girlfriend Amada (Mendes). This is fine for the most part (thanks to an excellent Mendes), but diverts from the core story, which is about the decision Bobby must make and its subsequent consequences. Gray has a very nice visual style and obviously knows the city he's shooting in like the back of his hand, and this results in a much more genuine-feeling crime film that the recently-released American Gangster. But if he'd only had a couple more passes at his final draft, or allowed a co-writer to come in and realign the stringently-off narrative, then we could have a contender on our hands, as he's obviously a director with ability. Script-wise however, he goes for the grand themes of loyalty, instead of using progressive narrative to compliment the hard edged setting, and that causes a sporadically absorbing film to lack resonance. As a cinematic showreel for the abilities of Joaquin Phoenix, We Own the Night is an unequivocal success; but for a character-driven crime drama, it lacks a dimension.

Review by Mike Sheridan