We Own the Night (2007)

A New York nightclub manager tries to save his brother and father from Russian mafia hit men.

Director:

James Gray

Writer:

James Gray

Stars:

Joaquin Phoenix, Eva Mendes, Danny Hoch

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joaquin Phoenix	...	Bobby Green
Eva Mendes	...	Amada Juarez
Danny Hoch	...	Jumbo Falsetti
Alex Veadov	...	Vadim Nezhinski
Oleg Taktarov	...	Pavel Lubyarsky
Dominic Colon	...	Freddie
Joe D'Onofrio	...	Bloodied Patron
Elena Solovey	...	Kalina Buzhayev
Moni Moshonov	...	Marat Buzhayev
Mark Wahlberg	...	Joseph Grusinsky
Maggie Kiley	...	Sandra Grusinsky
Paul Herman	...	Spiro Giavannis
Robert Duvall	...	Burt Grusinsky
Antoni Corone	...	Michael Solo
Craig Walker	...	Russell De Keifer

Storyline

Brooklyn, 1988. Crime is rife, especially drugs and drug violence. A Russian thug is building his heroin trade, while everyone laughs at the cops. Brothers have chosen different paths: Joe has followed his father Bert into New York's Finest; he's a rising star. Bobby, who uses his mother's maiden name, manages a club. Bobby too is on the rise: he has a new girlfriend and a green-light to develop a Manhattan club. Joe and Bert ask him to help with intelligence gathering; he declines. Then, Joe raids Bobby's club to arrest the Russian. From there, things spiral out of control: the Russian puts out a hit on Joe, personal losses mount, and Bobby's loyalties face the test.

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | nightclub | russian mafia | loyalty | heroin | 

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Taglines:

Two brothers on opposite sides of the law. Beyond their differences lies loyalty.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, drug material, language, some sexual content and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [fr] Official site [jp]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

12 October 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

La nuit nous appartient

Filming Locations:

Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$21,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£441,416 (UK) (14 December 2007)

Gross:

£1,756,957 (UK) (11 January 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, 2929 Productions, Industry Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sony bought the film for a reported $11 million.

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Goofs

A sign at the beginning of the church scene declares that the church is in the Diocese of Queens. This diocese does not exist. Queens belongs to the Diocese of Brooklyn.

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Quotes

Joseph Grusinsky: Why don't you go back to your little Puerto Rican girlfriend?
Bobby Green: I will go back to my fucking Puerto Rican girlfriend!
Joseph Grusinsky: Yeah?
Bobby Green: Yeah, you keep thinking about my girlfriend while you're fucking your fat fucking wife!
Joseph Grusinsky: You motherfucker!
[darts for Bobby]
Bobby Green: Get the fuck off of me! You motherfucker!
Joseph Grusinsky: Get off of me! You motherfucker.
[is taken off of Bobby]
Joseph Grusinsky: I'm done with you!
[...]

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Connections

References Lost Highway (1997)

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Soundtracks

"The Magnificent Seven"
Written by Topper Headon, Mick Jones, Joe Strummer
Performed by The Clash
Courtesy of Epic Records and Sony BMG Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment

User Reviews

A Plot Threadbare from Overuse

WE OWN THE NIGHT is the quote from the lower portion of the badge on the uniforms of NYPD police family Deputy Chief Bert Grusinsky (Robert Duvall) and one of his two sons Capt. Joe Grusinsky (Mark Wahlberg): the other son Bobby (Joaquin Phoenix) did not follow the family tradition of police work but instead is involved in nightclubs - and yes there is a schism of resentment. Bobby has distanced himself further from his family by changing his last name to 'Green', living with a Puerto Rican girl Amada (Eva Mendes), and bonding to a wealthy Russian family who owns the nightclub where Bobby works - a front for a drug dealing business. Writer/Director James Gray ('The Yards' and 'Little Odessa') has a feel for this underbelly of New York City and captures the 1988 mood of life in the city and beneath the city with style. The problem with the story is that it has been done so many times that it is simply stale yesterday's lunch. Two brothers at opposite end of the family spectrum require a major tragedy to bring them together, and to offer any more information to this fairly thin plot would be a disservice to those who plan to see the film.

The cast is strong, partly because each of them has played similar roles countless times and have the ideas down pat. It should be noted that two of the producers of the film are Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix, probably a reason the film was made... There are some exciting moments and enough surprises and tense times to keep the adrenaline rolling, the smaller roles are very well cast, and one of the shining attributes of the film is the gorgeous Russian liturgy inspired musical score by Wojciech Kilar. It is not a bad film; it is just too much in the same mold as countless other New York police dramas. Grady Harp