We Own the Night (2007)

Director:

James Gray

Writer (WGA):

James Gray (written by)

Release Date:

12 October 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Two brothers on opposite sides of the law. Beyond their differences lies loyalty.

Plot:

A New York nightclub manager tries to save his brother and father from Russian mafia hit men.

Plot Keywords:

Russian | Club | Drugs | Russian Mafia | Nightclub

Awards:

5 nominations

Cast

Joaquin Phoenix	...	Bobby Green
Eva Mendes	...	Amada Juarez
Danny Hoch	...	Jumbo Falsetti
Alex Veadov	...	Vadim Nezhinski
Oleg Taktarov	...	Pavel Lubyarsky
Dominic Colon	...	Freddie
Joe D'Onofrio	...	Bloodied Patron
Yelena Solovey	...	Kalina Buzhayev (as Elena Solovey)
Moni Moshonov	...	Marat Buzhayev
Mark Wahlberg	...	Joseph Grusinsky
Maggie Kiley	...	Sandra Grusinsky
Paul Herman	...	Spiro Giavannis
Robert Duvall	...	Burt Grusinsky
Antoni Corone	...	Michael Solo
Craig Walker	...	Russell De Keifer

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, drug material, language, some sexual content and brief nudity.

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:18A (Manitoba/Ontario) | USA:R (certificate #43553) | Ireland:15A | Norway:15 | Finland:K-15 | Philippines:R-13 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Taiwan:R-18 | Brazil:16 | Sweden:15 | France:U | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R16 | Italy:VM14 | Singapore:M18 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | South Korea:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:13 | Japan:PG-12 | Peru:14

Filming Locations:

Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

2929 Productions

Trivia:

According to an interview with Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix would get into character by hurling insults at 'Robert Duvall (I)' between takes. This upset Duvall greatly and Wahlberg had to restrain him.

Goofs:

Factual errors: A sign at the beginning of the church scene declares that the church is in the Diocese of Queens. This diocese does not exist. Queens belongs to the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Quotes:

Joseph Grusinsky: I don't need any more guns in my life, that's for sure. But you should have one to be safe. It's better to be judged by twelve than carried by six.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tension: Creating 'We Own the Night' (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

Chubchik

Strong start and dumb finish

On the whole I think James Gray's movies benefit from his smooth directing, no rushed and furious MTV editing. This leads to a good deal of leniency from the part of critics (as with Night Shyamalan before it became too obvious he was shooting the same narrative structure over and over), a kind of prime for directors who don't harass the viewer with images + sounds but let the camera roll and the actors do their jobs, the story unfold and so on.

We Own the Night starts very well, the exposure is excellent. Even though the brother confrontation is definitely not new Joaquin Phoenix is so good you just get into the story and beg for the plot to become more complicated. Oops. The problem is the story becomes a one-way highway of the same old/same old. Joaquin Phoenix is ever so good you don't care too much until it becomes way way too much. In that respect (and lack of respect for the movie-goer) the movie ends in a lame way, rushing an happy and clean and tidy and moral conclusion.

The last lines (see the so-called "memorable quotes") say it all. It perfectly reflects that a smooth director may be too smooth on writing. Bringing sentiments before the camera is miles away from shooting scripted sentimentalism and I think James Gray has a problem with his characters' emotions since he is only able to play on pathos and good acting.