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We Own the Night shows human side of the drug war
10-23-`07 | The Paly Voice | by Kelly Shin

We Own the Night starts off with black and white snapshots of crime scenes, which outline the movie's plot. Directed by James Gray, this crime drama captures the suspense and horror of the drug war, but also contains logical flaws and slow moments that are boring and unnecessary.

Nevertheless, We Own the Night has creative plot twists make this movie riveting enough to be worth two hours and $10.

Set in Brooklyn in 1988, We Own the Night tells the story of two brothers distanced by their choices regarding the drug war.

One brother, Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix), is the owner of a nightclub that is frequently visited by gangsters. Bobby's life is full of parties and danger due to the fact that his nightclub is the haven of notorious drug dealer Vadim Nezhinski (Alex Veodov).

In contrast, his brother Joseph (Mark Wahlberg) is following in their father's footsteps and upholding a family tradition by joining the New York Police Department.

Bobby looks the other way when drug deals occur in his nightclub and tries to stay neutral in the drug war, but is ultimately forced to choose a side when his brother is shot.

Throughout the movie, the themes of family, loyalty and violence come up.

In the beginning, Green tries his hardest to stay separated from his family of cops and even changes his last name to Green to cut all family ties. However, as drug deals increase and the casualties turn personal, Green realizes the importance of family.

Gray manages to develop the characters' relationships and create perfect on-screen chemistry.

The theme of loyalty never leaves the plot as Green remains loyal to his family over the gangsters at his club.

When Green agrees to help Nezhinski in a major drug deal, he betrays Nezhinski by wearing a tracking device.

Seemingly every scene in this crime drama seems to be a violent one.

There are a number of shooting scenes in which the audience is exposed to gory wounds and excessive amounts of blood.

The many gory scenes may cause the movie goers to cringe and turn away.

However, although the images are unpleasant, they do help to portray the emotions and circumstances that are a part of the movie. Violence is, after all, a major factor in the drug war.

The cinematography is excellent, with a wide range of different shots and angles.

During suspenseful moments with more anticipation than action, the camera zooms into the actor's face and the subject that the actor is looking at, allowing the audience to feel like they are right there with the characters in that moment.

Then, for more chaotic, active scenes, the camera is unfocused and shaky, which adds to the sense of chaos.

While We Own the Night has a strong theme and an impressive cast, there are still flaws to this movie. The acting is not always good, as Phoenix mumbles many of his lines making it difficult and frustrating to watch.

However, the actors manage to express the emotions of the characters they portray; allowing the audience to feel the emotions with them and to better understand the circumstances of the scene.

There are some logical flaws throughout the entire movie, making the plot confusing.

For example, Green initially leads a very different lifestyle from the rest of his family and tries to hide that all of his family are distinguished New York City cops.

No one other than his girlfriend Amanda (Eva Mendes) knows of his family connection — not even his boss or any of the other people he works with.

However, a big-time drug dealer like Nezhinski would certainly do a background check on Green before doing business.

Perhaps this clumsy error made it easier for Gray to advance the plot, but it was quite obvious.

At times the story progresses too slowly, bringing the audience from anxiety and suspense to boredom and impatience.

The movie runs for two hours, and there are a couple of scenes that are unworthy of screen time and unimportant to the plot.

Overall, We Own the Night does a little better than a decent job in portraying the time period of drug wars by adding in the emotional family ties and by implementing some creative twists to the plot.

We Own The Night is worth watching, but not for someone who has a weak stomach since there are a number of violent scenes.

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SWP



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