We Own the Night

Cast & Crew

Joaquin Phoenix

Bobby Green

Mark Wahlberg

Joseph Grusinsky

Eva Mendes

Amada Juarez

Robert Duvall

Bert Grusinsky

Antoni Corone

Michael Solo

Moni Moshonov

Marat Bujayev

Alex Veadov

Vadim Mezshinski

Tony Musante

Jack Shapiro

James Gray

Director

James Gray

Writer

Nick Wechsler

Producer

Marc Butan

Producer

Mark Wahlberg

Producer

Joaquin Phoenix

Producer

Todd Wagner

Executive Producer

Mark Cuban

Executive Producer

Anthony Katagas

Executive Producer

Joaquin Baca-Asay

Cinematographer

John Axelrad

Film Editing

Wojciech Kilar

Original Music

Ford Wheeler

Production Design

James Feng

Art Director

Catherine Davis

Set Decoration

Michael Clancy

Costume Design

Douglas Aibel

Casting

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Critic Reviews for We Own the Night

Audience Reviews for We Own the Night

• Dec 28, 2019

  gph.is/28LnKBz Amazed that they managed to take this sort of subject matter and make it boring.

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  Super Reviewer
• Jul 03, 2014

  The ending feels a little too abrupt and the Eva Mendes character isn't well defined. However, visually the film is often mesmerizing (the car chase and the final gunfight are both beautiful and frightening) and I like how Gray sets up several different potentially cliched Cop film scenarios, only to knock them down.

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  Super Reviewer
• Aug 11, 2012

  Pretty good drama, We Own The Night is supported by a good cast and has a very good story. However I was bit let down. The acting was great, the performance by the three lead actors were just wonderful. However I felt that towards the end of the film, director James Gray rushed to try and conclude his film. The film started swell, and despite the fact that lacks a bit near the end, it's still a film worth watching. I very much enjoyed the plot of this film, and it had the right amount of drama, and sometimes action. I just feel that more effort could have been put into the ending. Other than that, this is a good film with a good plot, and great performances. This is a film worth watching and the cast make this film worth seeing. Although it's flawed near the end, the film has a very good first half. There's plenty to enjoy here, and the film succeeds at being a compelling drama about a family separated by law and crime. What really stood out in this film was Joaquin Phoenix's performance as Bobby Green a night club manager whose father and brother are cops. The thing that stood was how he ultimately made the choice of going to honest route once his life was threatened. The chemistry between Robert Duvall, Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix is the standout of this film, and more than makes up for the rushed ending. This is a very good film, but one that also could have been much better.

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  Super Reviewer
• Apr 28, 2012

  Well, it appears as though the tables have turned since James Gray's last film, "The Yards", and now Joaquin Phoenix is owning the spotlight over Mark Wahlberg, only this time, we have a film that's not as good as "The Yards"... from what I hear, because I haven't seen any other James Gray films. Of course, if it's anything like this film, then, well, I watched all of his movies a long time ago and many times, because this is pretty darn similar to most every crime movie out there, only with a much cooler title. Actually, I say that, but the level of coolness in that title went south when I saw the trailer, which opened wearing the fact that it takes place in the late '80s on its sleeve, while having Joaquin Phoenix walk into a nightclub with a pierced left ear. With a trailer opening like that, the title sounded like it could either go to a cool but generic crime film or a music video to one of those terrible dance club songs that they actually made in 1989 to get ready for the downfall of good music. No, I'm kidding; this is quite obviously a crime film, and boy, James Gray is not going to let you forget that. Okay, maybe the film isn't that generic. In fact, it promises to be refreshing, but that's something that Jim Gray forgot awful fast when he started writing the dialogue. Okay, now, I complain a lot about the film falling into some genericism and all, but really, a lot of that is just exaggeration, because the film manages to dodge glaring amateur missteps more than you would expect it to. However, while this film isn't as run-of-the-mill as it could have been, it still doesn't go too far without collapsing back into conventions, when it comes to both dialogue and general story structure, and while those slip-ups aren't as striking as they would be and very much are in less competent crime films, they are more frequent than they should be, and a film with a story this potentially refreshing deserves better than that. However, even if the conventions were glaring and grating in this film, then they would, well, actually be the biggest of the film's worries, because the minor lapses in originality are problematic enough as they are, so one can only imagine how grating this film would be if it was on the level of genericism as a weeknight cable cop drama, only an hour longer. Still, as things stand, the collapses into conventions are the least of this film's problems, with the film's biggest problem being missteps in James Gray's storytelling, which isn't to say that it's unrelentingly shoddy, though it is certainly spotty here and there, with moments of exposition and transition going glossed over to create some not terribly gaping, but rather offputting gaps in comfortable story flow, as well as moments of moderate overstyle in the tone, whether it be through the overbearing blasting of the soundtrack or simply too much emphasis on the environment, leaving certain moments of cool-down - some of which being fairly major - in the film to go a tad limp and damage the effectiveness of the story. The storytelling faults more often than it should, and often during points where it really doesn't need to fault, and with the story also going plauged by some repetition, the film's escalations are inconsistent and the film is left scattered all over the place. This renders the film rather underwhelming and sometimes overbearing, leaving its should-be entralling atmosphere to rarely grip you tightly and its potential to squander a bit. However, where other crime dramas of this type and of these flaws would have just left it at that and stand as simply nothing at all terribly special, this film, while not at all terribly transcendant, still stands its ground as a genuinely enjoyable film that ultimately rewards from, if nothing else, a stylistic standpoint. Sure, there are moments of atmospheric overstyle, and the style is never really all that stellar to begin with, yet the film's style works more to its benefit than its detriment, which isn't to say that the style really brings this film to full life, though it does certainly liven things up and help in setting both the tone, as well as the time, which is presented in a way where the time setting is known, though not telegraphed, yet not at the cost of some pretty fun '80s tunes here and there. Another stylistic aspect that supplements the tone of the film is, of course, Joaquín Baca-Asay's cinematography, which isn't terribly upstanding among recent similiar films shot in this film, yet remains effective in its gritty rawness, especially at the action sequences, which, I must say, are pretty impressive. Sure, the action is so good that, by the climax - during which the film has to be on top of its game, in terms of action -, it doesn't have terribly striking power, yet, the fact of that matter is that the action is still so impressive, having a lot of style, but still plenty of raw realism, as well as focus on substance to not only make the action cool to look at, but compelling in the context of the story. Still, what really places you in this world the most might have to be the acting, which isn't to say that everyone is great, though it is certainly to say that everyone plays his or her part with authenticity and charisma that leaves his or her role to comfortably fall into place and give this film human depth and believability. Of course, please not that I said that not "everyone" is great, for although the secondaries are good enough to supplement the situation, the situation is really brought to life by the one truly excellent performance, and by a person we expect no less from: Joaquin Phoenix. The Bobby Green character is one that starts off as a fiery charisma that's on top of the world, only to face dangers and tragedies that he tries to fight back, only to find himself locked in situations he was never prepared for as he unravels and changes into a different, more broken human by the end of it all. It's a tough role to play, yet Phoenix makes it look effortless, nailing the initial charisma, but when things begin to unravel and get real, Phoenix molds from that charisma a presence of subtle anguish, as well as strength as the Bobby Green character tries his hardest to keep things as under control as he can, though finds himself held back by pure, scarring fear, and watching Phoenix deliver such a soberingly subtle, emotional and compellingly layered performance is one of, if not the biggest reason to see this film, as it helps the most in giving this film the grit, depth and humanity that makes it a notable entry in a sea of familiar crime dramas. At the end of the night, there's no getting around the not terribly glaring, yet still very much active conventions, nor is there any hope of getting around the missteps in storytelling, yet what helps the film in transcending the dangers of falling into forgettability among the crime-drama genre is the subtle, yet handsome style that compliments tone, setting and some heavy action, yet not quite as much as the colorful and very human cast, headed by an especially excellent Joaquin Phoenix, whose layered, emotional and deeply compelling lead performance is among the fair deal of strengths that ultimately make "We Own the Night" a compelling and generally satisfying film. 3/5 - Good

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  cameron j Super Reviewer