Starring: Jacquin Pheonix, Robert Duvall, Mark Whalberg, Eva Mendes
Director: James Gray
It is normally a safe bet to assume a movie starring Jacquin Pheonix, Robert Duvall and Mark Wahlberg would be pretty good. We Own The Night is no exception. However, while it is a good movie it can’t be accused of being overly original.
Director James Gray again teams up Jacquin Pheonix and Mark Wahlberg, who he also directed in 2000’s The Yards.
The story revolves around two brothers, one a cop and one running a New York night club with links to some unsavoury Russian drug dealers. Joe (Mark Wahlberg) is the good son who has followed his father’s footsteps through the police force. While, Bobby (Jacquin Pheonix) is the night club manager whose world gets turned upside down, when his world and that of his brother’s collide. Their father is played by the understated, yet ever convincing Robert Duvall.
When Joe is gunned down by one of the Russians, Bobby must decide where his loyalties lie. What transpires from there is a well told, well acted but very predictable story line. The old ‘blood is thicker than water’ comes to the fore and Bobby sets about trying to put things right.
Even the twists and turns in this movie are quite predictable and it pretty much steers the safe course throughout. The ending in particular is very clichéd.
Pheonix, while very good in the role of Bobby, seems to play the character with the same brood and mannerisms he brings to most of his roles. Duvall is good, as are Wahlberg and Eva Mendes as Bobby’s loyal girlfriend.
We Own The Night is a good film, but one where its safe route and predictability, for mine, did detract from the movie as a whole.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
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