User Reviews

I had wanted to see this film for a long time. I purchased it without seeing it first, and think it is a great movie. I was surprised that many more people were not saying more about it, esp. Roger Ebert.

It is, for many scenes, often even blocked exactly the same, a wonderful homage to the Godfather movies. The two sons with different temperaments, the female "outsider" i.e. Amanda/Kay characters; the father loving both, the "meetings" with the family, cops and brothers; the car scene where Bobby is in the front seat of the car going to make the meeting with the Russians, and then cut to the car spinning and going in the opposite direction; the lighting where the eyes are blacked out when Bobby meets the Russians, when the Duvall character is shot and falls in the street, and many others.

I liked this movie better thanGF3, to be honest.

It is, also, one of the most beautifully photographed films I have seen in a long time. The DP, and visual team did a wonderful job. Any still could stand on it's own as a great picture.

All of the acting, and especially work done by Eva Mendes, was fantastic!

What would have helped the film, for me, was most likely missing on the page: memorable dialog and interesting bad guys-why did we fear the Russians in the first place? They can't even kill right, and when cornered, they cut their own throats. In addition, it needs to have more conflict, revenge, and character arc, especially for Bobby. That he "changes" careers in the end would work better if he was a bad ass for the earlier part of the film.

It's OK that it moves slow, but it has to pay off in the end and there must be an emotion that drives us to want to get to the end; revenge is a good one; the audience has to "want" to get the bad guys as much as the characters in the movie. It is not over done; It broods, yes, but the only one that gets really "angry" is Amanda, played by Eva Mendes.

The only other things that needed a little more drama was the car chase ref to "Bullett"-we're in the car, not "looking" in; the reveal that the best friend was giving away the info, ref. to God Father 2-we never expected it; and the shoot out in the field, ref. to "Heat" takes place at night, and lots of blind spots.

If you say you did not like it, give it another shot. Someteims, when movies are slower than we expect it takes a while to get into them.

Ripley

This film had plenty of potential, it had great actors a great story and a high budget, but it could've been so much more. I thought Joaquin Phoenix was the stand out actor. It was a different role for him and he played it perfectly. I thought it was Abit unrealistic that mark got shot in the face and survived but I'll get over it. It was still a decent a film but it could've definitely been better.

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 little and provides the same fairly one-note performance we've seen before from him. But perhaps aided by their previous working relationship and off-screen friendship, he and Phoenix share enough believable chemistry to make their complicated relationship feel real. Duvall does fine work as their father, we've seen him better but I enjoyed the tension between his character and Phoenix's black sheep of the family. 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. More than just the girlfriend of a charismatic man, we believe in the relationship between Amada and Bobby, which makes the evolution of that relationship all the more resonant by film's end.

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.

A New York club owner has his club raided by cops one night, the catch is that one of the cops doing the raiding is his own brother. After his brother his sent to the hospital, he takes matters into his own hands to try and catch the ones who did it. His life then is turned upside down, as he must look over his shoulder at every turn, or turn the tables on those after him.

I wasn't all that interested in "We Own The Night". Granted it had a good cast, a competent director and a decent story line, the trailers just never grabbed me. Nevertheless I gave it a try and it is exactly what I thought it would be, a decent film with great acting and good directing. "We Own The Night" is no "Departed", which is what many people will compare this to, as it came out the year prior and bare similar plot scenarios. "We Own The Night" is a decent film that can stand on it's own, but it's lackluster ending and stages where it drags on a bit stop it from being a film that might be remembered years from now.

Bobby is a night club owner and his brother, Joesph is the cop that raids his place. Joesph is after one man and one man only, Vadim. Vadim decides to send this cop a message and has him killed, but Joesph survives the attack. Bobby decides to take matters into his own hands, go undercover and stop Vadim from his drug running. Things don't go as smooth as planned and then we have a big shoot out in the drug building. This scene, along with a unique car chase scene later on, stand out as highlights in a film that is mostly talk. The car chase is unique in it's own right because most of it is done within the car, only briefly going outside to show the viewer where they are headed. It's pouring rain and the one sound that you cannot help but hear it the windshield wipers going back and forth, trying to give us a clear view of what's going on, but it's never clear enough for long.

Bobby is the main character, played by Phoenix with Wahlberg playing the brother, in a more supporting role. Eva Mendes and Robert Duvall round out the rest of the cast, both hold up well with what they have. Surprisingly Mendes, who has a real performance here. She genuinely loves Bobby and doesn't want to see him get hurt. Duvall, the father, always liked the one son more then the other, mostly because the son was following in his footsteps. With the small screen time both characters have, they manage to change drastically. Both in the opposite direction, one grows closer, while the other further apart. Wahlberg does well with his role, he doesn't have any material to work with, other then to be angry here and kind there. This film belongs to Phoenix.

A powerful performance is in the film and Phoenix delivers on every level. Bobby is a complex individual, we never truly know what he is thinking or believes. He is rolling with the bad guys and tells his family to screw off, yet will run to their aid when needed. Phoenix delivers this performance, mainly through his eyes. In one particular scene he is told about his brothers attempted murder and the man telling him is the man who did it. Phoenix plays both sides of the spectrum perfectly well, hiding his true emotions to the other character, yet showing everything to the viewer.

Gray uses light and sound to his advantage here. When one character dies, the main thing we hear is silence, with the exception of the rain hitting the floor. Gray also likes to use hallways, for instance, when Bobby is about to enter the drug operations room. He travels down a dark a brooding hallway, into the darkness he goes, into the danger that lies ahead. The film is never too bright, or too dark, it has mid grays and blues throughout. It's set back in the 70's and this feeling achieved right from the opening pictures.

The final climatic showdown is what brings this film down a notch. A good premise with bad execution is what happened. Two characters are traveling through a marsh field, one is after the other, the suspense is building...then we all of a sudden stop and set the marsh on fire. We are waiting for this one guy to come out and give up, all suspense is gone, but then Bobby decides to go back in, so we are suppose to go back in with him. They've already brought us in and taken us out, now they want us to go back on this journey with them. The second time we enter, the suspense has settled and the scene doesn't last long enough to try and rebuild it. It's over before it begins. Some plot holes also hurt "We Own The Night", like how some people know they are brothers, yet others have no clue. It would seem like someone would have known something beforehand.

All in all "We Own The Night" is a good film, I can recommend it to you. It has great performances, especially from Phoenix and good directing. IF the story was a little tighter and the final ten minutes more suspenseful, "We Own The Night" would be one everyone's top ten list, instead it might have to sit at the next number out. Which is a shame, cause this film is worthy of praise.

"We Own The Night" isn't what I thought it would be at first - another undercover cop movie. It's a pretty unique crime/drama with emphasis on the drama that depicts the aftermath of a police operation gone wrong. Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg play two brothers whose lives have taken different turns, but who are brought back together when the Russian Mafia threatens to destroy their family.

Writer/director James Gray's movie is a tense and gripping affair. The characters are shaped well and embodied perfectly by the actors (although Mark Wahlberg is really just playing the quiet, aggressive guy that he's always playing once more). There's a pretty exciting car chase in there and a bugging operation that will make you cringe with fear for the main character.

That said, the movie isn't without its flaws. The first half drags on a bit, then it all goes too fast. Joaquin Phoenix' character becomes a policeman literally overnight and suddenly there's a concluding showdown, which comes out of nowhere and ends with a pretty unspectacular shootout. On top of that, most of the movie plays like a sequence of short episodes rather than one continuous story. Phoenix' character is too much in the focus of the story and the characters played by Eva Mendes and Mark Wahlberg just kind of enter and leave the plot without having too much of an impact on anything.

Make no mistake, though, this is one of the best gangster movies of 2007 (just after "Eastern Promises" and way ahead of "American Gangster"), although it is much closer in atmosphere to David Fincher's character-driven "Zodiac". And Joaquin Phoenix is so good, he was robbed of an Academy Awards nomination.

How can anyone have enjoyed this film? It was so hokey I was open-jawed through most of movie. Bobby is in hiding, with the badest of the bad out to kill him, and he joins the police. That's a low profile, huh? Then the chief swears him in conditionally (explains that he has to go to the academy after he solves the case), then puts him on the raid of the big drug deal. This is a guy who until recently was a coke-snorting party animal running a nightclub. When the bad guys are ambushing his motorcade when they are transferring him because the badest guy escaped, the trailing car is missing and none of the cops even notice - Bobby notices though. Then they shoot his driver (he manages to get from the backseat into the driver's seat without mishap - right), and the hit men inexplicably lose interest in him (the actual target) and go after his dad in the lead car. Those are professional hit men for you...at least in the mind of the cretin who crafted this silly story. Of course, Bobby the club manager is the guy who shoots the bad guy (who's last word is "Bobby" for some reason), then we go to the final scene where he's graduating from the academy (as promised) and guess what: he's the valedictorian. Wow! No middle of the class for this screenwriter. Oh, and the single tear running down Bobby's eye when he goes in to see his brother in the hospital was priceless.

Numerous other silly examples of unbelievable scripting are peppered throughout the film, but they are too numerous to list.

In summary: If you can completely suspend all rational belief, and you are easily entertained by people doing things that no human being who has survived to adulthood would ever do, then this movie is for you.