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Two brothers stand on opposite sides of the law. For Bobby life is one big party; dating the beautiful Amanda and managing the successful El Caribe nightclub in New York's Brighton Beach. Its Russian owners treat him like family and he has ambitions to create an entertainment empire. Meanwhile his brother Joe has followed in their father's footsteps, becoming a high ranking narcotics officer in the NYPD. But in 1988, New York's drug trade is on the rise and the brothers' worlds are fated to collide. While Bobby tries to keep a discreet distance from a Russian drug dealer working out of his club, his brother is tracking the same man, determined to bring down him and his bosses.
Writer-director James Gray seems to have an enduring fascination with the seamy underbelly of New York life and especially the darker side of the Russian émigré population having previously explored it in "Little Odessa" and "The Yards". The film begins with a rather basic game of compare and contrast - it opens with grainy black and white stills of the New York Police and crime scene photos that establish what they are up against whilst emphasising the camaraderie between officers. This is juxtaposed with Bobby's decadent lifestyle, illustrated by his girlfriend masturbating as he looks on in the back room of his heaving nightclub. It feels like a clumsy comparison which is further enhanced by Bobby's familial bond with his Russian employers and his discomfort with his own family at a party celebrating Joe's promotion. So you know what the main theme will be throughout. There's also a tendency
towards visual cliché, with one portentous downpour and gunfire triggering flashbacks in one of the leads.
There is quite a lot of action during the film, but it is understated, which makes it feel neither terribly affecting nor exciting nor scary. This in conjunction with the low key performances made the film feel rather staid to me. There's not enough tension, making the action sequences predictable. Gray also doesn't make enough of the setting. There's no sense of the 80s' taste for excess, despite scenes of casual drug-taking. The whole film is shot in phlegm tones and this removes any veneer of glamour from Bobby's heaving club. It adds to the resolutely dour atmosphere of the film. It's trying to be gritty but is hampered by the unoriginal writing and an excess of pregnant pauses. The resulting hundred-and-seventeen minutes consequently drags and feels self-indulgent at times.
It's unclear why Gary's screenplay is set in 1988 - there's very little to reference the period in terms of story. If anything, the drug problem in New York has got worse and the influence of the Russian Mafia has strengthened since then. So there's no reason why it should be set twenty years ago. It is also a story that covers old ground. It can't help but feel like a riff on the old "Family of Cops" movies. You have two generations of police officers from the same family and you know everyone is going to be endangered by a single family member's actions. The characterisation feels lazy because it relies on well-worn archetypes. The two brothers are each others' polar opposites. Where Bobby is more interested in partying and having a good time, Joe is a dour, responsible guy with a family, who has followed his father into the police and takes his job very seriously. Their dad is the standard starchy, distant movie parent - unable to express his feelings while still caring about his offspring. And Bobby's puppy-doggish friend Jumbo is clearly going to be the weak link that precipitates catastrophe. The difference between the good and bad guys is too clear cut. However I think the family drama aspect of the story detracts from the police thriller. It drains the tension from the police work and makes it feel like Bobby never has any choice in what he does so he appears weak-willed. The dialogue is loaded with references to family and various moral dilemmas for Bobby that are resolved too easily to resonate.
I like Joaquin Phoenix, even if his choice of projects isn't always great, he's always interesting to watch. But I can't fathom why he took the role of Bobby. There's no room for his trademark intensity in the swaggering, decadent nightclub manager. He feels too tense to suit the laid-back attributes of the character and come the character reversal, there isn't enough depth to his performance. Despite the mumbling delivery and sudden mood swings, it always feels like Phoenix is acting. And even though he and Eva Mendes are apparently an item in real life, there's no real chemistry between them.
Mark Wahlberg can impress on occasion, but this isn't one of them. He delivers a one-note performance as committed police officer Joe. He's staid and controlled throughout and you never get the feeling the character has an inner life. What you see is what you get, so he's not very interesting to watch. The same can be said of Robert Duvall as the head of the Grusinsky family - it's another one of his gruff, distant and disapproving turns, though the script doesn't give him much scope for developing the character. Eva Mendes is little more than eye candy as Bobby's girlfriend Amanda. She handles the role's growing feelings of isolation well, but we never really get to know her.
The original music by Wojciech Kilar suits the understated nature of the rest of the movie. He uses subtle string soundscapes with woodwinds to add depth. Minor key chimes are intended to set the nerves on edge, while piano and rising strings are meant to give resonance to important moments and harp and chime motifs for tragedy. After a key sequence, muted orchestral arrangements underline the importance of the events without overpowering them and raise the emotional value of the scene. He keeps the viewers on tenterhooks with womb-like sounds for a pursuit through smoky reed beds, but allows himself reliable rising strings when the hero emerges triumphant. Other soundtrack choices feel less considered. For instance the music at the nightclub feels horribly dated. Were people in 1988 still dancing to Blondie at every available opportunity? And why is Bobby's home life accompanied by early 80s' ska? It doesn't really make sense.
"We Own the Night" is yet another grimy-looking cop thriller that isn't quite as smart or intense as it thinks it is. The story covers old ground, the characterisation is basic and the execution of both is a little staid for my tastes. I just couldn't suspend my disbelief and accept all the actors as the characters - they simply felt like they were acting too much of the time. If you enjoyed films like "Narc" or "Rush" I'm sure you'll like this film more than I did. But if you're looking for spectacle, or dare I say, entertainment, then you'd be better off with a Hollywood blockbuster.
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New York 1988: A new breed of narcotics has swept the great city bringing with it a ... more
ferocious crime wave more terrifying than any in recent memory. Outmanned and outgunned by the new criminal order the police find themselves burying one of their own...
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Apr 1st, 2008
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