We Own the Night

They must have passed out depressants to the cast when shooting this movie.
I wanted to jump into the scenes with Phoenix and jump start his heart so he could continue. I believe it was the directors job to get the timing right in this slow mo druggie versus cop movie and he failed miserably.

Forget American Gangster. Really, forget it. With a good movie like "We Own the Night" tackling the same subject matter with much better results, there's no reason to subject yourself to hours of dragged out gangster worship. But this isn't a comparison paper, this is a review. So let me break it down.

The acting is great. I'm not usually impressed by big names, because as most serious movie lovers know, big names doesn't mean "good movie," but I must say that Joaquin Phoenix has been consistently impressive with each role he's taken of late. In the same way he became the Man in Black for Walk the Line, he completely becomes Bobby Green, making the audience love and hate this guy who can't seem to figure out which direction his life is taking. He's always been around the dealers and hung with them, but he's never become involved with them too deep. His father and brother, both cops, have never clashed with him too much, though their relationship is all tense. However, as the drug situation worsens, Bobby's two lives begin to clash, and he has to pick a side.

Part police drama, part gangster flick, part thriller, and all character driven, this will leave you captivated until the very end. The visuals are always interesting--more than once, I felt like it was shot like a horror movie, what with the dim lighting and moody sets--and the music is phenomenal, particularly a recurring almost childlike theme that plays over all of the key moments. Overall, the movie could have been shortened a bit without losing very much, but as far as executing a story, writer/director James Gray did a commendable job.

This doesn't have any impact at all on my rating of this movie, but I just need to say that the cover for the DVD is horrible. From the design of the words to the two panels on the side with Mendes and Duvall, the entire concept is shockingly cheesy. As I said, that doesn't reflect on my review, but this is a movie that deserves a cover that will catch prospective the eye of a prospective buyer... and this most certainly would not.

One last thing, in comparison to "American Gangster," this movie doesn't go out of its way to glorify the gangster life to get "oooooohs" and "ahhhhhhs" from the crowd. It shows how dirty that lifestyle can get--as well as how appealing it can be--without making it seem heroic, or the cool thing to do. This movie strikes a balance, creating a nice morally grey area that leaves the characters and the viewers questioning which side, if any, is in the right.

7/10

The whole thing leaves you thinking - and I care why? I love all the actors - the premise is good - the storyline is weak and just doesn't come together.

This was a good movie, but I would suggest you rent this one before you buy it. I think for this movie to be truly great, it would have needed to be another 30 minutes longer to fully develop the characters.
4 stars

With such high production value, great acting and intense subject matter it just amazed me that no one sat down and tried to bang out a good story. Through the whole movie I just couldn't figure out where it was going. It kept jumping around and oddly focusing in on really strange "setting the mood" elements that didn't progress the story in any way or allow you to relate to the characters.

I didn't hate it but I wouldn't recommend it either.