Movie review: ‘We Own the Night’

Posted by Dennis Sellers Oct 11, 2007 at 9:56pm

I love the title of We Own the Night with its film noir-ish connotations. However, the film is less Out of the Past than Mean Streets lite, though a line-up of A list actors and some atmospheric flourishes overcome too much melodrama. Warts and all, there’s no denying that writer-director James Gray wears his heart on his sleeve in his latest cinematic endeavor.

Here’s Columbia Pictures’ synopsis of the film: “Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix) has turned his back on the family business. The popular manager of El Caribe, the legendary Russian-owned nightclub in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach, he has changed his last name and concealed his connection to a long line of distinguished New York cops. For Bobby, every night is a party; he greets friends and customers or dances with his beautiful Puerto Rican girlfriend, Amada, in a haze of cigarette smoke and disco music. But it’s 1988, and New York City’s drug trade is escalating. Bobby tries to keep a friendly distance from the Russian gangster who is operating out of the nightclub—a gangster who is being targeted by his brother, Joseph (Mark Wahlberg), an up-and-coming NYPD officer, as well as his father, Burt (Robert Duvall), the legendary deputy chief of police.”

The best thing about We Own the Night is the cast. Phoenix’s mercurial character gives the talented actor a chance to stretch beyond the recalcitrant roles he often plays. Wahlberg is solid in a toned down version of the law enforcement officer he played in The Departed. Duvall seems to have phoned in his role as a grizzled police veterans, but he’s such a natural screen presence that he’s good even at this worst. The other cast members—including Eva Mendes as Bobby Green’s main squeeze—are also good.

We Own the Night has its share of plot loopholes (some crazy custody shenanigans), contrivances (police officers don’t take many steps to protect themselves even though they know they’re on the Russian mob’s hit list) and over-the-top melodrama. But the flaws are counter-balanced by some unexpectedly fine scenes. There’s a breath-taking car chase in the rain. A white knuckle twist on the guy-wearing-a-wire-during-a-drug-deal scenario. And a breath-taking shootout.

This is Gray’s third film, the others being Little Odessa and The Yards, both also overcooked dramas with some excellent flourishes. One of these days the writer-director, a natural born filmmaker, will make a great movie. Until then what he gives us is interesting works that show flashes of genius.

We Own the Night is rated R for strong violence, drug material, language, some sexual content and brief nudity. Running time: 117 minutes. Macsimum rating: 6 out of 10. You can check out the films’ trailers on the QuickTime movie trailer site.

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