“We Own the Night” starts out reasonable enough. A drama about two brothers on opposite sides of the law, the picture starts out in a montage of aged photos of NYPD officers. It is nostalgic, respectful and romantic.
Suddenly the iconic voice of Blondie’s Debbie Harry cuts across the screen and the movie quickly jumps pace to well above 88 miles an hour. Man of the hour Bobby (Joaquin Phoenix) and his leading lady Amada (Eva Mendez) share a private moment of pleasure in a small green room before the doors open to a hot Brooklyn club and the two get lost in the night.
Fortunately, “We Own the Night” never seems to slow down from there.
While marketed as a character drama centered around a divided family, the film flourishes out to be so much more.
Bobby is a 1980s New York club manager on the way up and his brother Joseph (Mark Wahlberg) is a New York police officer, also on the way up. The two could have less in common until Joseph is promoted to captain and takes his new elevated stance on the drug war right to the front steps of Bobby’s club, purposely putting the confused and conflicted Bobby smack in the middle.
After sending Bobby and a number of his drug dealing cohorts to prison, the latter get their revenge on Joseph and the true central tale of Bobby’s evolution from hell-raiser to hero is finally set into motion.
Bobby’s evolution is written with tender care, examining his every emotion and subsequent decision, juggling the dangerous identity he made for himself and the conservative family he left behind.
With a cast full of talented heavyweights including Oscar winners Phoenix, Robert Duvall as Bobby and Joseph’s police chief father, and past nominee Wahlberg, the explosive script gets its due with this dream team of a cast. Even Mendez unleashes a surprisingly strong performance alongside these screen veterans.
However, Wahlberg is, for the most part, underused throughout the film and it’s Phoenix who walks away the winner with a role of a lifetime and the acting chops to back it up. Understated then fiery, soulless to heartfelt, he takes every curve ball thrown at Bobby and hits a grand slam.
No matter how far Bobby seems from redemption, it’s hard to take your eyes off his every move.
James Gray, with his obviously talented crew, turns even the most mundane scene into moments of cinematic perfection. A run-of-the-mill car chase becomes an edge-of your-seat, tears-in-your-eyes event. This chase, which occurs halfway through the film, is an example of the film’s stealthy balance between drama, action and thriller ““ a balance that makes this potential Oscar contender unforgettable.
With a stellar script as well as a standout cast and crew, this film will give those other upcoming crime dramas such as “Gone Baby Gone” and “American Gangster” a run for their money.
““ Kate Stanhope
E-mail Stanhope at kstanhope@media.ucla.edu.