Bobby Grusinsky (Joaquin Phoenix) comes from a family of driven hard-boiled New York cops, his father Burt (Robert Duvall) and older brother Joseph (Mark Wahlberg) decorated veterans lauded for the passion for justice and commitment to the community. But this isn’t the life for him, the black sheep family member more than content to keep running a popular nightclub and reveling in drug addled debauchery with sexy girlfriend Amanda (Eva Mendes).

Joaquin Phoenix and Eva Mendes get close in Sony Pictures' We Own the Night

When Joseph is marked for death by Russian drug dealers who spend much of their time frequenting his club, things change for Bobby in a big way. A line has been crossed by those he once thought of as his friends, and now he must make the choice to stand up for very things his family has been preaching for years. But justice comes at a price and now all the Grusinsky clan, including Amanda, are in the line of fire. Yet Joseph will not be deterred, standing up for his family the first decent thing this once carefree troublemaker has ever done.

James Gray’s We Own the Night is two-thirds of a crackerjack retro-style police thriller undone by a hackneyed climax that, while stylishly photographed, undermines the entire picture to its ultimate ruination. Up until then, I was more than happily entertained by the picture, both Phoenix and Wahlberg (reteaming for the second time for the director, both also appearing in his last effort The Yards) giving full-throttle performances that pop off the screen. But this electricity doesn’t hold, and by the time everything faded to black I almost wanted to hiss at the screen in disappointed derision.

It starts out so beautifully, too. Gray sets the mood and the tone right away, building the relationships between the three men subtly and without hitting the audience over the head with cliché. Sure we’ve seen this kind of story before (gritty late 1980’s New York milieu plus macho male police officers divided by retro filmmaking unavoidably equals dysfunctional family), but the director does such a good job getting the details so spot-on it’s hard not to get submerged within the stark proceedings.

But it just doesn’t hold. Right after the screeching tires of a stunning rain-soaked car chase come to a crashing halt the picture starts moving in a direction growing more ludicrous and asinine by the minute. It all culminates in a final so silly, so grotesquely idiotic, a person could be forgiven for suddenly throwing their arms up in the air and screaming in disgust. The whole film falls apart with a resounding thud, and everything good I can say about it can’t help but disappear when faced with the massive mediocrity the film suddenly becomes.

On the plus side, from a visual standpoint Gray has certainly outdone himself here. Joaquin Baca-Asay’s (Thumbsucker) cinematography is top-notch, Ford Wheeler’s (the upcoming Reservation Road also starring Phoenix) production design oozes authenticity and editor John Axelrad (Boogeyman) cuts things masterfully. The performances are universally excellent, Mendes a particular surprise on that front considering just how bland and uninteresting I’ve found her in so many of her earlier projects. 

Too bad it’s all for naught. The final left such a bad taste in my mouth I almost feel remiss for pointing anything decent about the movie at all. It’s infuriating when good films suddenly go bad, We Own the Night doing nothing but taking up ownership of my furious unhappiness.

Film Rating: êê  (out of 4)

Additional Links:

-  We Own the Night Theatrical Trailer