We Own the Night

By Julie Tennant

HUGE

James Gray's work here as writer-director has come leaps and bounds from his previous film The Yards, released in 2000. With We Own the Night, he crafts a fantastic story with a style set apart from current films. Perhaps not designed for audiences that fear classical storytelling, this film is refreshingly not reminiscent of the music videos/video games that are being packaged as movies. Gray has likened it to a Greek tragedy in its scope, where something far more devastating than predictability awaits. After a much discussed sex scene that manages to be risqué and sexy without going too far for tame audiences, the story really develops beautifully, exceeding my (already high) expectations. I'm looking forward to seeing it for a second time in theaters as I have a feeling that this one only improves with multiple viewings.

Gray creates real mood in several particularly excellent scenes. Two in particular, the drug house and car chase are so well constructed, and so well filmed. They build tension inconspicuously, they creep up on you to where you barely notice that you've started breathing harder. And the choice of composition and sound effects never feels overdone or out of place. It serves as a compliment to the suspense rather than the source. At times the effect almost sounds throbbingly ultrasonic. It adds palpability to scenes without overpowering them--something all too common today.

Of particular mention is Gray's use of hallways as set pieces. There are three different hallways used at different intervals in the film that are wonderfully atmospheric (as coupled with haunting audio and skillful direction) and indicative of a passage into the unknown. The last--Bobby walking down the corridor into blackness is both terrifying in its context and foretelling of the symbolic darkness he's entering in his life.

As for the cast, Joaquin Phoenix is (again) the heart, soul, and center of the film. Smartly given the main role, his weight, conviction and charisma easily stand out here. Conversely, Mark Wahlberg contributes nothing and provides the same performance we see time and again from him. He uses one look, one emotion, to convey his character, and as such his constant consternation and depthless work are easily side-swiped. Duvall does fine work, but we've seen him better and Eva Mendes is unobjectionable as well. Actually the relationship between Bobby (Phoenix) and Amada (Mendes) is perhaps the most touching and poignant in the film and Mendes is in no way a disappointment or distraction.

But, this is Phoenix's film. At his worst (if you can call it that) he's reminiscent of a young and passionate Al Pacino, and at his best, there is no one comparable. Phoenix takes this role and makes it heartbreaking, shading Bobby with sympathy and complexity. There are several scenes in which his reactions are stunning in their realism. A scene in a diner in which Bobby knows more than he can let on to a Russian drug dealer, Phoenix juggles a reflection of both inner and outer conflict that is revelatory in its subtlety-- and he does it all with his face and eyes. He seems an old hand at the dreaded and difficult character arc, so his masterful work there is no surprise. What is surprising is that you instantly forget ever seeing him in anything before. When you watch We Own the Night, you can't see Joaquin Phoenix and you don't see any character he has previously played. His style, presence, manner, behavior and the feeling he projects has never been seen before. This is ! Phoenix as we've never seen him. And that is every bit as exciting as it sounds.

As a final comment on the film-making, the very last scene is a dream in its power and simplicity. Though some viewers may be used to something showier, it is about as perfect a final moment as I could have hoped for. As far as Joaquin Phoenix goes, the man just keeps getting better. Apparently so does James Gray.

Perfect Advertising is Faulty Advertising?: We Own the Night

by Christian De Matteo

Super

A few years ago a movie came out directed by auteur director Sidney Lumet entitled Night Falls on Manhattan. The movie did a very strange thing: It blew me away even as it bored me to death. I can’t begin to explain how this works, but I’ve seen it many times since, it is one of my favorite films, and this is always the case. It’s a long, slow movie but it has me glued to my seat every time I watch it.

Interestingly, the subject matter of We Own the Night and Night Falls on Manhattan is somewhat similar. This is interesting because We Own the Night comes the closest to explaining why I like Night Falls on Manhattan than any other movie I’ve ever seen. Please don’t misunderstand me, We Own the Night is not boring at all, but it is not the action-packed movie the previews seem to slyly suggest. Long stretches of movie pass with not much happening on the screen. Luckily, there is a place much is happening almost all the time: On Joaquin Phoenix’s face. We Own the Night is an incredible drama of family conflict and loyalty, set against a backdrop of recent 1980’s New York history that, for many of us, steal feels very recent.

We Own the Night is not exactly the movie they advertise, but it’s also not exactly not the movie they advertise. The previews misguide you and, for once, thank the lord they do.

When I first saw the ads for this movie I was very excited about it, until, at the end, the title came on the screen. We Own the Night seemed cheap to me, a little Mary Higgins Clark for me. There was a bravado in it that didn’t suit me. I had forgotten the police uniforms of my childhood, the police cars of my youth in Manhattan that had this brave statement splayed across them. As soon as I realized that this was where the title had come from, my entire point of view changed and I prepared myself for a great action flick.

And I didn’t get that. Though there are a few excellent action sequences in film, the majority of the film belongs to the four main actors emoting their way through the film to let you feel what each of them think. Mark Wahlberg and Robert Duvall are great as father and son and Eva Mendes manages to impress me a bit more than moderately (and more than just with her rather prominent nipple in the first scene of the film) with her above par acting for once. But it is Joaquin Phoenix who carries this movie. It is Joaquin against whom all the drama bounces, barrels and explodes, and getting to watch him do scenes with the great Robert Duvall is a true pleasure.

When the credits rolled, a few jerks who had been talking through the majority of the movie stood up and called out things like, “Sucked,” and “Bo-ring,” showing off both their extensive vocabularies and their ability to appreciate artistic endeavors. Regardless of my annoyed observations about their idiocy another part of me was aware that this might very well be what the masses of audiences feel about this movie they might have thought was a by-the-numbers revenge action piece. I hope this is not the case but it will not surprise me.

I, however, loved it. We Own the Night is an excellent piece of film-making and story telling with a very good script and some terrific acting from all involved. It’s also going to be viewed in the future as an important step on the way to Joaquin Phoenix’s continuing reach for true greatness, as it will be seen as another example of just how good an actor Robert Duvall and for how long he has been.

We Own the Night is intense. One of the most intense car chase sequences I’ve ever seen is in it, as well as a phenomenal drug-house shoot-out. But these style scenes are few and far between. Go see the movie for the emotion, the intensity and the challenge of loyalty that the film showcases. See it for the incredible acting and story line that feels less like a movie plot and more like a sequence of cause/effect events in the life of one character.

And regardless of what any one tells you about how it’s paces, see the movie to enjoy how it feels. Then rent Night Falls on Manhattan and see if that works for you that way too. I think that’s what does it for me.