We Own the Night

SCRIBE'S CAN'T I KEEP THE HOT PUERTO-RICAN GIRLFRIEND? REVIEW:

Hopefully Joaquin Phoenix’s decision to quit acting in pursuit of a hip-hop career will be short-lived. We are truly missing a great actor right now.

“We own the Night” is another in a string of intense and passionate performances by Phoenix. This time he is Bobby, a late 1980’s New York nightclub manager who comes from a family of police officers. But Bobby isn’t crazy about that fact, preferring to live the partying life with his exceptionally hot Puerto-Rican girlfriend, portrayed with surprising depth by Eva Mendes.

If you’re able to suspend disbelief enough to accept that Mark Wahlberg is his brother and Robert Duvall is his father, the rest is utterly realistic. Bobby’s boss, a Soviet (remember this is the 80’s) immigrant has a nephew whose involvement in the Russian mob has caught the attention of his father’s task force.

What follows is an interesting and compelling take on a man whose resistance to his family is challenged at every turn. Once the inevitable raid led by his brother shines a spotlight on his club, Phoenix finds himself embroiled in an investigation that will eventually result in tragedy.

The attention paid to authenticity in this film is nothing short of astounding. According to the DVD extras, the clothing worn in the film is actual vintage attire from the late 1980’s. My initial confusion over why early 80’s music is playing in 1988 is explained in the extras as well since it is assumed that a 30-year old man would be listening to music from his youth: Well, that’s not the Eighties I remember. If you listened to something that was even six months old you were considered a joke but it’s a small inconsistency.

It’s rare that a screenplay truly surprises me, but this one does. This is partially due to the fact that the early portion of the film makes it intentionally difficult to figure out where all this is going. Like life, this is a movie that doesn’t throw all the answers at us the moment we sit down in front of the screen.

A film like this depends heavily on believable character growth, which is where Phoenix comes in. His subtle changes from narcissistic club manager to responsible family member are handled so well one might not even notice it happening at first. Wahlberg is his usual dependable self in an ironic twist on his brooding, tough guy character. Duvall is…well, come on. Would I have the right to try and criticize Pavarotti? Well, yes, but I created him so that’s not really a fair question.

Each spring sees the release of several gritty cop dramas the studios stupidly feel won’t garner any attention from audiences during other parts of the year. This was one of them. See it~

*** out of *****

GREEN’S “HOW COME YOU GOT MATCHES AND A LIGHTER?” REVIEW:

Bert and Joe Grusunsky (Robert Duvall and Mark Wahlberg) are father and son together in the family business - law enforcement in 1980’s Brooklyn. When they get set to raid a popular nightclub filled with drug dealers, they courteously let Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix), the club manager know what’s coming, because he’s part of the family, too. But Bobby doesn’t take his family seriously and the advice is blissfully ignored. Life goes on as usual until the nightclub is raided by the police and he becomes a target of both the police and the scum and villainy who do ‘business’ in the club. Once his family starts getting hurt by the masterminds of the crime ring going on in his club, Bobby is faced with and must make the most important choice of his life: Become an informant for the police or help run the crime ring inside the club.

This is a movie that I don’t recall seeing the previews for when it came out in 2007. Surprising, considering there’s such a high powered cast leading this film. Joaquin Phoenix gives his usual intense dramatic performance. Scribe hits the mark when he laments Phoenix‘s decision to retire from acting at such a young age to pursue the music business. There aren‘t many actors as intense and focused as Phoenix is. (aaah, what a long way since “Space Camp.”) Mark Wahlberg is again solid with his performance. There’s not many films he’s been in that I haven’t liked. And well, Robert Duvall is well, Robert Duvall. ‘nuff said. The man hasn’t been in many bad movies or ever given a bad performance, as far as I can recall. Eva Mendes, who I think is a decent actress, didn't wow me as Phoenix’s hot girlfriend.

Over all, James Gray’s script is well written and has a good pace to it. I believe that when you’re also the director, as Gray is here, it helps the story immensely because there is continuity, in that he knows better than anyone what he wants to get out of his actors and how he sees the story going. I like his use of dark lighting and darker colors which help set the mood when Bobby is managing the club and how the lighting changes on par with Bobby as his attitude toward his family changes. The only scene I was really disappointed in was the confrontation between Bobby and Nezhinski in the wheat field scene toward the end of the movie. Sort of anti-climatic.

The special features included on the DVD are excellent and informative.

***½ out of *****