We Own the Night DVD Review

We Own the Night stars the talented Joaquin Phoenix, who plays Bobby Green, a nightclub manager in Brooklyn in the late 80s. Bobby is the black sheep of the family, having bucked the tradition his father set forth as a police officer, to pave his own path.

Bobby’s brother, Joe, played by Mark Wahlberg, and his father, Albert, played by Robert Duvall, have made it their mission (as cops) to wipe out crime in Brooklyn, some of which may or may not be playing out in the nightclub Bobby manages. Eva Mendes joins the cast to play a convincing party-girl girlfriend of Bobby.

Buy the We Own The Night DVD for an incredibly low price of £12.99 (usual price is £19.99) with free shipping delivered anywhere in the UK. This price is exclusive to this website by clicking on this link only.

The nightclub Bobby manages is owned by a Russian man, Marat Buzhayev (played by Moni Moshonov), who becomes a sort of father-figure to Bobby. When Buzhayev’s nephew, Vadim (played by Alex Veadov), a drug trafficking suspect, gets arrested at said club, all hell breaks loose.

In most stories, there is a struggle between “good” and “evil”, and in this case, We Own the Night pits the fraternity of the police force, melded with familial bonds, as well as the Catholic religion, with the fraternity of the Russian mafia, which also draws strength from family and religion.

While Bobby is a shade of grey in a black-and-white good-v.-evil world, he eventually has to choose a side, and when he does, that decision will cost him one way or another. As once character puts it, “Better to be judged by 12 than carried by six.”

Given that the ending is slightly implausible, and there are many loose ends that are never tied together, the film is still an excellent vehicle showcasing the acting chops of Phoenix, who plays a man caught in the middle and “walking the line” between good and evil quite well.

We Own the Night is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, with sound in Dolby Digital 5.1, as well as optional French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks, and optional English, French and Spanish subtitles.

Extras include Gray’s commentary track, which can be enabled for his comments to be heard throughout the film, as well as three featurettes: “Tension: Creating We Own the Night”, “Police Action: Filming Cops, Cars and Chaos”, and “A Moment in Crime: Creating Late 80’s Brooklyn”.

In We Own the Night, director James Gray takes what could have been a shoot ‘em up film and turns it into a drama about family, the ties that bind, and justice. That, coupled with the strong performance from Phoenix, makes this a film worth watching.