we own the night

From Writer/Director James Gray comes We Own the Night, a tale of a family spread amongst the darker and brighter aspects of Brooklyn city life. The film stars Academy Award nominees Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg and winner, Robert Duvall.Shot in 80's film style concentrating on eerie elements and subdued cinematography, the film reminds viewers of past films The Departed, Goodfellas, and The Warriors surprisingly but loses a lot of steam in areas.
We own the night is for sure not original in its screenplay. The bad boy who becomes good in loyalty towards his family, the tough guy who decides to kill the evil he was making a living on to save his family. Even though he's never been a dealer, still, he's somehow mixed with all the drug issues going on in the club he works at. The man who turns out to have a conscience that leads him to pick up a side between the good and the evil.I'm not sure you can blame a movie for that single reason, at least not nowadays. There are way too many movies coming out to judge one only by its storyline. Then what makes the difference is the acting part; the ability of the actors to get into the character, to make the character become alive, alive as a character : not an actor playing a role but a role played by an actor. That's where the truth lies...and I'm afraid this is something that everyone forgets because the acting is of very poor quality most of the time. It is certainly the director that is to blame but the actor, what is the actor doing if he doesn't try hard to get into the character himself?
Joaquin Phoenix is very good at it. Very good. I recommend this movie to anyone who wants a change, who wants to see actors playing the characters of an non flawed screenplay.