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Harvey Karten's Reviews

Review: We Own the Night

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#1 of 1 Posted 10/13/07 3:27 PM

From harveykarten Posts 798 Last Feb-7
To All [Msg # 22690.1 ]

WE OWN THE NIGHT

Reviewed for CompuServe by Harvey S. Karten
Columbia Pictures/2929 Productions
Grade: B-
Directed by:    James Gray
Written By: James Gray
Cast:   Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, Robert Duvall, Antoni Corone, Moni Moshonov,
Alex Veadov, Tony Musante
Screened at: AMC Empire, NYC, 10/13/07
Opens: October 12, 2007

Say what you want about both genetics and environment, about the influence of biology vs. the pull of upbringing, and you’ll continue to be baffled by the way a pair of brothers can turn out so differently. In “We Own the Night,” the title taken from a slogan on a policeman’s shoulder-patch, New York’s chief of police, Bert Grusinsky (Robert Duvall) may have brought up his two sons in different ways, or maybe not, but only one turned out the way he’d have wished. His son Joseph (Mark Wahlberg), who kept the family last name and became a police captain, is contrasted with his other lad, Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix), who not only Anglicized his name to distance himself from his brother and dad, but stood on the opposite side of the law. While Joseph made a decent living with the police force, Bobby had loftier ideas, becoming like a son to the owner of El Caribe night club, Moni Moshonov (Marat Bujayev). While Joseph chased after drug lords, Bobby indulged in cocaine and the high life. Bobby’s attitude would undergo a radical change brought about when the boss’ nephew, Vadim (Alex Veadov) overextended himself with prejudice to Bobby’s family–against his brother and his father and ultimately himself.

“We Own the Night” is not like “American Gangster,” in that much emotion is spent over relationships within a family: Two brothers who have not spoken to each other in years, a father who dotes on one son and has contempt for the other, the artificial, Russian family into which Bobby is welcomed to take the place of his own--an adult version of teens’ joining gangs for similar reasons.   The movie includes quite an effective car chase in pouring rain (though the water is computer-generated and realistic). And kudos to the production company for filming largely in Brooklyn, where the story takes place in 1988, when Ed Koch was New York’s mayor, who has a small (but, thankfully, almost no speaking) role.

A few inaccuracies would not trouble most audience members. Most important, no disco club like El Caribe existed in Brooklyn, at least not in my time when the most famous night club, Ben Maksik’s Town and Country, was like a Montana gas station compared to this one. It’s no wonder that when Bobby, who had become ageing Russian mobster Bujayev’s chief adviser, suggested opening a second club in Manhattan, the idea was received with lukewarm enthusiasm because of the outrageously high cost of doing business in that borough.

Nor would you expect a police officer against orders to enter a burning field, designed to smoke out a criminal. When one cop is hit and his car blown up by what the force considers a professional job, it’s not likely that the victim would emerge alive.

Family connections aside, “We Own the Night” is conventional, with a predictable trajectory, featuring Robert Duvall’s usual proficient performance, Eva Mendes’s solid take on a beautiful woman who loves her man enough to warn himself strongly against joining the police force, and appropriate chemistry between Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg as estranged brothers brought together by tragedy.

Rated R.    117 minutes   © 2007 by Harvey Karten Member: NY Film Critics Online

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Harvey Karten's Reviews

Review: We Own the Night

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