One man's decision to turn around his life in a rush and another's rush to avoid having his life turned-around set the stage for this noir tragedy. We've seen these folks before in other movies, but we're still moved because we might have made worse choices still in their shoes.
Leo (Wahlberg's character) returns from prison to a great welcome home. He just wants to become a productive citizen again. His cousin's Erika (Theron) is dating his best friend, Willie (Phoenix), who's working for her step-dad, Frank (Caan). Frank wants Leo to take the high road towards a new life, but Willie's encouraging the low...and what young man can resist such temptation?
Although Leo, his Mom (Burstyn) and aunt (Dunaway), all want him to go straight, Leo can't see that Willie's way is more than a shade crooked. Before Leo gets a chance to really choose, Willie makes a choice that sends the families, the yards, and borough politics on a collision course. Each step along the way, folks make their prisoner's dilemma choices with disastrous results for all.
The film is shot dark, evoking the barely colorized films of the 50s and 60s, but clearly takes place within the last decade. The noir mood is held by the high quality of the acting (I don't usually like Wahlberg, but for once he doesn't get in the way of his natural charm). Writer/Director James Gray keeps us in the mood, spending just enough time letting us glimpse the hard choices that everyone makes...and to see why they choose poorly over and over again.
We want Leo to choose the clean life, but we can see why he doesn't (and why we might not in his shoes). We want Willie to walk away rather than act rashly, but we can see why he can't. We want Uncle Frank to do the right thing, but it's clear why he won't.
It's too bad that Gray had to ruin the ending with a been-there-done-that Hollywood ending. Mind you: he's done a better job than other corruption-and-politics movies, but it still feels a bit like a cop-out (you should pardon the expression).
Despite the ending, it's a great film. And you'll find yourself still thinking about Leo and company's choices for days afterward.
I rated this 8/10.
[If you don't like slow, moody, noirs, give this a pass.]
Leo (Wahlberg's character) returns from prison to a great welcome home. He just wants to become a productive citizen again. His cousin's Erika (Theron) is dating his best friend, Willie (Phoenix), who's working for her step-dad, Frank (Caan). Frank wants Leo to take the high road towards a new life, but Willie's encouraging the low...and what young man can resist such temptation?
Although Leo, his Mom (Burstyn) and aunt (Dunaway), all want him to go straight, Leo can't see that Willie's way is more than a shade crooked. Before Leo gets a chance to really choose, Willie makes a choice that sends the families, the yards, and borough politics on a collision course. Each step along the way, folks make their prisoner's dilemma choices with disastrous results for all.
The film is shot dark, evoking the barely colorized films of the 50s and 60s, but clearly takes place within the last decade. The noir mood is held by the high quality of the acting (I don't usually like Wahlberg, but for once he doesn't get in the way of his natural charm). Writer/Director James Gray keeps us in the mood, spending just enough time letting us glimpse the hard choices that everyone makes...and to see why they choose poorly over and over again.
We want Leo to choose the clean life, but we can see why he doesn't (and why we might not in his shoes). We want Willie to walk away rather than act rashly, but we can see why he can't. We want Uncle Frank to do the right thing, but it's clear why he won't.
It's too bad that Gray had to ruin the ending with a been-there-done-that Hollywood ending. Mind you: he's done a better job than other corruption-and-politics movies, but it still feels a bit like a cop-out (you should pardon the expression).
Despite the ending, it's a great film. And you'll find yourself still thinking about Leo and company's choices for days afterward.
I rated this 8/10.
[If you don't like slow, moody, noirs, give this a pass.]