October 18, 2007

We Own the Night

Though I enjoyed James Gray's last film, The Yards, I wasn't expecting too much out of this one as its ad campaign made it look like a rather ordinarcy police/crime drama, fused with family tension (brother versus brother, and son versus father). Happily, it's more than that. What you have is a story centered around Joaquin Phoenix's character, Bobby. He just wants to have fun, run a night club, and enjoy life (including sex with Eva Mendes). But events make that impossible. Soon his family and past run up against the life he's trying to lead in the present, and the film is basically about the choices Bobby makes, as well as those made by some compelling, if not terribly complex, side characters. There are some bizarrely off matters in the production. The music and some of the clothes really don't seem to be from 1988 when the film is supposedly set, and given that year, are Russians mobsters really the appropriate villains in a story like this? Well, regardless, the film is able to overcome such things. It's well acted, and Gray definitely has a way with staging things that combines a certain real-life grittiness with the occasional key note of elegance. I was enjoying it more and more as it moved on. So if you like this kind of thing, I recommend it.

Posted by armand at October 18, 2007 10:29 PM | TrackBack | Posted to Movies


Comments
Post a comment









Remember personal info?