We Own the Night [DVD] [2007]

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
In iWe Own the Night/i, Joaquin Phoenix, whose eyes burn with sullen anger even when he's looking at the woman he loves, plays Bobby Green, a nightclub manager in the 1980s who gets caught between his blood family he tried to leave behind--a long line of police officers--and his chosen family of friends and business partners, who turn out to be drug dealers. His father (Robert Duvall) and brother (Mark Wahlberg) want Bobby to help their investigation, but Bobby resists--until the conflict takes a brutal turn. Writer/director James Gray wears his influences on his sleeve; he's clearly seen every movie that Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola ever made and aspires to follow in their footsteps.p The familiarity of the movie's territory dilutes its impact, but the plot of iWe Own the Night/i remains unpredictable, the performances have a clean vitality, and Gray's moody visual style brings some life to the genre. Phoenix (iWalk the Line/i) dives into his role, sifting through layers of guilt and familial resentment; Wahlberg and Duvall play parts they've essentially played a dozen times, but do so with commitment and integrity. Also featuring Eva Mendes (iGhost Rider/i) as Bobby's devoted girlfriend, who questions just how much she'll have to give up for him. --iBret Fetzer/i

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2009-03-08 rating:
Better than the alternatives that year
We Own The Night (WOTN) is stylishly shot in fact it would remind of the kind of cinematography that Ridley Scott would/could have used, which sadly was lacking in Ridleys American Gangster. Also in America gangster we see some cliche characters, the burnt out cop as seen in so many US cop movies. In WOTN the cliche is ripped up, when a cop gets shot he feels it and loses his nerve, unlike other moviews where he would bounce back after a simple bandage and take out all the bad guys. br / br /WOTN is also better than the over-rated Departed. Scorsese should have won the Oscar for Raging Bull, King of Comedy or Taxi Driver, but giving it for this rip-off movie (see the original infernal affairs instead) is a clear token gesture. The performance from WOTN are in my mind better than Departed. br / br /

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review by: date: 2009-02-17 rating:
Excellent film
Just watched this for the first time, only had a passing interest before. But I was very surprised at how good this film was. br / br /Both the main leads played there roles very well, I was especially impressed by Whalberg who usually grates me. br / br /I would recommend this film to anyone who wants a gritty dark drama.

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review by: fiftyfirstfloorfilms date: 2009-01-19 rating:
Seen It All Before
"We Own The Night" treads very familiar ground, in that its a story set in cocaine drenched eighties New York and about two brothers on different sides of the law. How many times have I seen that movie in the past ten years? A Dozen?. This adds very little to that specific genre bar a couple of good action scenes and some good performances from Phoenix and Duvall. A very confused and screwed up soundtrack doesn't help matters (the film set in the acid house daze of 1988 but with clubbers supposedly still dancing to Bowie, Blondie and The Specials!) and the ending, although wilfully opaque, felt like a bit of an anticlimax.

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review by: date: 2008-12-15 rating:
There's nothing more compelling than family!
The biggest and best stories are all about family. This film is all about family, whether it's the fraternity of cops, the Russian mafia or just simple brothers and their father. All on different sides at the beginning, but proving that family is the strongest influence on our lives. br / br /I loved this film. Great characters brought out by skillful writing and directing. The pacing was perfect, but ADHD effects fans, game freaks probably won't agree. But they have Michael Bay to keep them happy.


review by: sharonsworld date: 2008-11-23 rating:
Very disappointing
A great premise and a cast choc-full of my favourite actors, I thought this looked like a safe bet. Me and OH found this movie to be slow moving and dull, veering wildly from the uninteresing to the highly (and I mean highly) improbable. We struggled to get to the end. Very disappointing. That's two Mark Wahlberg duds I've watched in a row. At least this one was better than The Happening!

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