We Own the Night [Blu-ray]
by James Gray
![We Own the Night [Blu-ray]](/images/We-Own-the-Night-Blu-ray-B0010HOZLM-L.jpg)
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Actor: Alex Veadov, Danny Hoch, Eva Mendes, Joaquin Phoenix, Mark WahlbergDirector: James Gray
Brand: Sony
Producer: Joaquin Phoenix
Producer: Mark Wahlberg
Writer: James Gray
Producer: Anthony Katagas
Producer: Couper Samuelson
Producer: Marc Butan
Producer: Mark Cuban
Blu-ray: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 117 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: 2008-02-12
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Blu-ray Reviews of We Own the Night [Blu-ray]
Blu-ray Review: Am I My Brother's Keeper?
Summary: 4 Stars
"We Own the Night" may not be the most original cop movie ever made, but it certainly is compelling. Taking place between late 1988 and mid 1989, it tells a classically redemptive story, putting all its effort into the main character and his transition from bad to good. But I'm making this sound far too simple: Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix) is really not a bad guy at all. Misguided, certainly--he's established as the manager of a New York City nightclub, and as such, he's a freewheeling partier. But more importantly, he's detached himself from his immediate family, going so far as to use his mother's last name for business purposes. Instead, he chooses to connect with the club's Russian owner, Marat Buzhayev (Moni Moshonov). Understandably, this puts Green at odds with his father, Burt Grusinsky (Robert Duvall), and his brother, Joseph (Mark Wahlberg), both of whom are cops.
I think you can see the conflict here, but wait until the story really gets going. It begins when Buzhayev's nephew, Vadim (Alex Veadov), is suspected of drug trafficking; under Joseph's supervision, the police raid the club and arrest Vadim. This sets into motion a series of events that endanger the Grusinsky family, beginning with Joseph's attempted murder. While Joseph recovers in the hospital, Bobby feels the first pangs of remorse; no, he didn't get along with his family, but he never wanted to see any of them get hurt. For the first time in his life, he actually feels responsible for someone else's misfortune. He channels his pain into a plan of attack, resolving to catch Vadim and have him brought to justice. This can be seen in one of two ways: either Bobby is trying to relieve his own guilt, or he's actually hoping to redeem himself by being selfless. Quite possibly, it's a little bit of both.
But whatever his reasons, it quickly becomes clear that catching Vadim will not be so easy. Through a sting-gone-wrong, he learns of Bobby's involvement with the NYPD, meaning that Bobby is now forced to go into hiding. So is his girlfriend, Amada (Eva Mendes), the only person Bobby trusts with his family secrets. She clearly loves him, but she also finds it difficult to move from motel to motel and to avoid any contact with her mother. They're both trapped, but Amada has it worse simply because she's a victim of circumstance. Bobby, on the other hand, got himself into this situation, first when he refused to help the police keep tabs on Vadim, second when willingly chose to help the police. I don't know whether or not we're supposed to feel sorry for Bobby--that depends on what the viewer believes. But I do know that, as reckless as he was, he's at least trying to make a difference. Surely something can be said for that.
But maybe it isn't enough. "We Own the Night" presents a number of complicated, believable issues that are properly introduced but not entirely developed. The tension between the Grusinskys is understandable, given Bobby's rebellious behavior. But in any troubled relationship, behavior is only part of the problem. As fascinating as these characters were, I just know that they could have been much more realistic if given the chance--with just a little more development, they could have been deeper, more meaningful, more complex. I recognized Bobby's drive to right his wrongs, and while that aspect of the story is fairly unoriginal, I still appreciated it. But something more was needed, something solid enough to be realistic yet flexible enough to be entertaining. This film remains stuck in an area between the two, an area bogged down by routine material.
But at the very least, it does the best it can with that material, and ultimately accomplishes what it set out to accomplish. I did believe in these characters, and I definitely found their story interesting. More significantly, I longed for some kind of resolution, which I'm sure is what the filmmakers were hoping for. Beneath the violence, the hurtful words, and the hard feelings, there is an air of hope to this story. We want everything to turn out okay, simply because Bobby and Joseph are family, and family should always stick together. Or at least, they should in this kind of film.
As flawed as this movie is, it's still worth recommending. "We Own the Night" is a police drama about taking responsibility, whether it's for your own actions or for someone else's well being. I'm not naïve enough to think that this message is new. Obviously, it isn't. But I am easy-going enough to believe that it still works. And while the characters aren't as developed as they should be, there's still enough to keep them from being flat, shallow, and uninteresting. I could sense how badly this film wanted to connect with its audience; the plot was in a perpetual state of building, working itself up to an ending that would be both expected and appropriate. Generally speaking, it succeeded--the final lines of dialogue express what should have been expressed from the very start, which is not only satisfying, but necessary, as well.
Description of We Own the Night [Blu-ray]
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