We Own the Night (2007)

Director:

James Gray

Writer (WGA):

James Gray (written by)

Release Date:

12 October 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Russian | Club | Drugs | Violence | Nightclub

Awards:

5 nominations

Cast

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
Yelena Solovey	...	Kalina Buzhayev (as Elena Solovey)
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

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:18A (Manitoba/Ontario) | USA:R (certificate #43553) | Ireland:15A | Norway:15 | Finland:K-15 | Philippines:R-13 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Taiwan:R-18 | Brazil:16 | Sweden:15 | France:U | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R16 | Italy:VM14 | Singapore:M18 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | South Korea:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:13 | Japan:PG-12 | Peru:14

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

2929 Productions

Trivia:

Sony bought the film for a reported $11 million.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: During the chase scene in the rain, the father said they were going to take his son and girlfriend to Corona. They were at the Cue Hotel, which more than likely is actually the Kew Motor Inn, which is on Union Turnpike, just west of Main St. Traveling from Kew Gardens, Queens to Corona there is no street scene like the one depicted in this chase scene. At the time the father is shot and then crashes, you can make out a street sign which says E 134st and Willow Ave. There is no E 134 st in Queens, it;s in the Bronx. Even looking at the area, this happened along Bruckner Blvd in the South Bronx. Also, the small bridge that was crossed, there is no such small bridge in that area of Queens, but there is in the South Bronx crossing from Bruckner Blvd over to Port Morris in the Bronx. There are a lot of these small bridges in the South Bronx, especially crossing over to Hunt Point area from Bruckner Blvd. There is no need to travel through the Bronx to go from Kew Gardens to Corona because the two are so close to each other. If they did, they'd have to get on the Van Wyck Expressway, over the White Stone Bridge, South on the Bruckner Expressway, over the Triboro Bridge, along the B.Q.E. to the L.I.E. and off the highway either at Junction Blvd or 108th St. Without traffic, such a trip would take at well over an hour but Corona and Kew Gardens are less than 10 minutes from each other.

Quotes:

Joseph Grusinsky: I don't need any more guns in my life, that's for sure. But you should have one to be safe. It's better to be judged by twelve than carried by six.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Entourage: The Dream Team (#4.5)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Let's Dance

They must drink quite heavily at Cannes

The audience gave a standing ovation at Cannes for THIS? But I can understand if the audience was three sheets to the wind after a gala luncheon where the bubbly flowed prodigiously. For those of us who have ever had way too many happy refreshments during an exciting, fun filled party with lots of laughs, we know it's rather easy to end up falling in love with some pretty sad characters. Then comes the morning after, the headaches, stomachaches, and the REGRETS, especially when you look at your bed partner and wonder how your judgment got so bad and you swear, you'll never drink so much or be so stupid again. Did any of those who clapped so enthusiastically feel a little like this later, after more thoughtful reflection?

And what about the leads? Were they tipping the spirits a little heavy as they read this script and agreed to do this cliché filled, overly melodramatic, contrived vehicle? I certainly can believe they may have found it necessary to be half tossed just to be able to say the lame, predictable lines they had to speak. I kind of hope they were all in the bag as they filmed this, otherwise I will be forced to look rather dimly at the quality of decision making that Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg and Robert Duvall make regarding the roles they choose. Is there such an enormous lack of good material they have to choose things like this? Perhaps they went in somewhat blindly, thinking if the others are in, it must be decent. I hope they're all not so busy and/or greedy for the cash that they'll go in without reading the script or despite it. Quite frankly, even those who are a little cock-eyed from too much libation would probably be able to see right through this lame material, no matter how much their vision blurred.

Granted it's attractively filmed and these respectable actors give respectable performances, but it's clearly material that is quite sub-par for the quality of the cast and production. What a waste.

A suggestion for those who attend Cannes in the future, stick to ginger ale, you'll feel substantially better the next day and won't have to feel embarrassed the morning after regarding how foolish you were the night before. Besides, you might spare others from having to sit through your recommendations who won't be drunk and will see bad date films such as this for what they are. As for me, what little credit I attributed to your opinion I will withdraw in the future, so you know when I recommend you stay sober I'm really offering you the suggestion strictly as a friendly bit of advice for your own good.