james gray has something of a reputation for having the ability to capture the sort of american picture that was prevailant in the 1970's. the likes of mean streets, the conversation and the french connection were all very much a product of an incredibly distinctive period of cinema, and gray seems highly influenced by it. we own the night, a cat and mouse-esque tale of brothers on either side of the law set (deliberately?) in the early 1980's manages to replicate the tone and pace of the influencing cinema in a manner effective enough to render the finished product a success.
the two brothers are played by mark wahlberg and joaquin phoenix, both very capable actors who suffer from a similiar problem in that they occasionally suffer from taking on terrible roles. wahlberg peaked somewhat with 1998's boogie nights, whereas phoenix had never actually stood out to me in any role until now, which is a shame as i have often seen him as a very interesting presence. with we own the night phoenix is given a role big enough for said presence, and is incredibly successful within the role. wahlberg's role is the subtler of the two, and in a way hes not supposed to be likeable, but again he pulls off the role auspiciously. robert duvall lends a sense of towering grandiose in the way that only a father caught between two sons can, and eva mendes comes off as likeable in the stereotypical girlfriend role, without ever seeming like too much of a cliche.
like the more successful of its influences we own the night looks stunning at times, with its mute palette and contradictingly accurate sweeping camerawork impressing highly. the rain soaked chase scene in particular stands out, proving to be one of the most memorable scenes in recent memory. the pace of the scene is perfectly measured, lending itself to a simulating climax. as you can probably tell i really enjoyed we own the night, and look forward to checking out more of james gray's work.
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