The Ultimate Movie Rental Review of “We Own The Night” + A Note About My Deep Concern About Joaquin Pheonix
Posted by Chris on June 1, 2008 @ 9:51pmHello Friends and Readers,
I managed to sneak to my local Hasty Market on Saturday night. I purchased a pack of cigarettes, a bag of Sour Cream & Onion Humpty Dumpty Chips, and a bottle of refreshing Dasani bottled water by Coke. As I floated to the cash register, I saw the incredible movie collection available at the store. I picked up "We Own The Night", starring the always lovable Robert Duvall, Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, and Eva Mendes. I heard that this movie was gritty, and I decided to gamble my $1.99 for 24 hours. I wanted to see what this ensemble cast could do together, especially since I heard Joaquin Phoenix and Eva Mendes hated each other so much during the filming of the movie, that they almost didn’t finish it.
Is it good? Yes. It was worth the $1.99 I spent. Robert Duvall seems to play the same character in each of the films he is in. So does Mark Wahlberg with his Bostonian whisper talk. I like Mark Wahlberg, but he always seems to give me the impression that he’s annoyed about the fact he’s an actor. Joaquin is his usually jubilant mess of a self, but this is exactly what I like about him. I still maintain that his best role to date was as the sexually frustrated Garry Buckman in the classic Steve Martin flick, "Parenthood". Joaquin has maintained a presence on my radar since I saw him in 8MM, back in 1999. He’s good at conveying confliction and frustration. He’s also good at honing the types of characters who demand these traits that he obviously holds in real life. Have you ever seen this guy in an interview? He shakes and crosses and uncrosses his legs constantly. He’s a living paint shaker this guy. Also, depending on when you catch him, he slurs the hell out of his speech, and usually downs 2-6 bottles of water in the span of a 10 minute sit down with whoever. Diabetic? Maybe? Dehydrated from what he considers real life method acting? Perhaps. Trying to wash out the 20 pills he took the night before, coupled with a liver full of booze? Almost certainly. Joaquin. I love you, and this is why I need you to read this entry, and imagine 6 other readers of the Five O’clock Track Team with me on an imaginary couch. We are staging an intervention. We are genuinely concerned about your erratic insanity and mental stability. You act weird, but you are brilliant. It seems as though the characters you play have no end as you exit a movie set. We sense that this is who you really are. If this is so, you need to get help. We have no doubt that your skills as a thespian will ultimately lead to that Academy Award that eluded you for your portrayal of Johnny Cash. Will you live to see it? We’re not sure. Posthumous Oscars are never as good as when the people receiving them are alive, unless you go down in a massive ball of flames, like out of a Hunter S. Thompson novel or something…and we wouldn’t put it past you. We’re asking you to get help. That is…unless…it will stifle you eccentric brilliance. Let us know. You seem like a cool guy, and if afforded the opportunity, I might want to party with you.
Back to the film…it’s good. Solid performances all around for the most part. The gritty factor is high, with a cool Russian mob element to it that is scarily believable. The most compelling thing about this movie is the war on the street between the criminals and the police, and how there is an element of the police being fearful because of the casualty rate they suffer in the film. Russian mobsters are bad ass. No doubt. There is also an element of blood runs thicker than anything in this film, with it’s family theme, as Duvall and Wahlberg play Dad and Son Grasinsky, the career cop combo to Phoenix’s Bobby Green, the ugly duckling brother who didn’t want, changed his last name, and instead went on to manage and mingle a club serving as a front for drug trafficking. Phoenix’s performance in this film is quite good. He stands out here.
Worth renting? Yes.
