10A - Wednesday, October17, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Half-lit 'Night'
A superb cast can't clarify
a muddled plot
By IMRAN SYED
Daily Arts Writer
"We Own the Night" may look like "The
Departed," but that illusion only works in
30-second TV spots. See-
ing the full two hours,
you'll find that even
though it stars Mark We Own
Wahlberg in a role simi-
lar to his Oscar-nomi- the Night
nated turn, this movie is At Quality16
much less refined, more
convoluted, overlong and Showcase
and at times downright Columbia
dull. But saying that it's
no "Departed" is hardly to say it's without
value.
A cop drama set amid New York City's
crack wars of the 1980s, "We Own the
Night" centers on New York City Chief of
Police Burt Grusinsky (Robert Duvall) and
his two sons Joseph and Bobby (Wahl-
berg and Joaquin Phoenix, respectively).
Joseph followed his father into the force
and now heads up an anti-narcotics team.
Bobby owns a nightclub popular among
wanted drug dealers. He bristles at his
father and brother's suggestion he cooper-
ate with them in bringing down the drug
lord Vadim Nezhinski, but after Joseph is
attacked by Nezhinski's men, Bobby finds
he has no choice but to go undercover for
the police.
The film should have climaxed right
there. Phoenix's take on a slacker brother
compelled into righteousness by the site of
his brother in a hospital room is measured
and uncomfortably authentic. Unfortu-
nately, the plot stumbles onward after this
point. The rest isn't bad, it just has a lurch-
ing feel that makes it too easy to detach
from the whole proceeding. There are some
fine sequences - both action and charac-
ter-based - but no polished whole.
Though Phoenix, in his first return to
the screen since he took on Johnny Cash in
"Walk the Line," finds exceptional depth
and versatility in his character, Duvall and
Wahlberg are largely wasted in strained
It wasn't meant to be another "Departed," but maybe it should have been.
character stereotypes. Joseph is slated to
be the blameless one who can't stand his
brother's shortcomings. Wahlberg does
the righteous hot-head better than anyone,
but his character's actions are completely
uncalled for and slow down the film's delib-
erate pace of the film. Duvall, meanwhile,
does his best Martin Sheen, and it doesn't
get at the depths of suppressed emotion
that supposedly drive his character.
Seekingto be more than just a cop drama
with good guys, bad guys and a twist, "We
own the Night" also spends much time
brooding over the tense family dynamics
and personal sacrifices of the men who
wear the badge. I say brooding not because
such issues are unworthy of focus but sim-
ply because the film seems to have almost
nothing to say about them. It's an inter-
esting concept that given more developed
characters and a more accommodating sto-
ryline would make for a superb take on the
genre, but here it just serves to needlessly
prolongthings.
There is a lot to like in "We Own the
Night," just not much to remember even
minutes after the film. With a cast of this
caliber, that has to go down as a disappoint-
ment - a watchable, fleetingly compelling
disappointment.
0
OPPOE.SUPR.SIONO0 PUT0 RES
In late August of this year, the University of Michigan Press announced It was stopping distribution of Prof. Joel
Kovel's book, Overcoming Zionism and was reconsidering its distribution contract with Pluto Press of London,
U.K., the publisher of Prof. Kovel's book and many other progressive scholarly works distributed by the U.of M.
Press. This announcement followed a campaign of complaints about Overcoming Zionism organized by a right
wing "watchdog" group called StandWithUs, an offshoot of "Campus Watch."
After receiving protests from all over the world, the U.of M.Press restored distribution of Overcoming Zionism
but indicated their intention to review the contract for all Pluto Press publications at their next meeting on Oct. 19,
2007.
In the name of academic freedom, freedom of speech and intellectual diversity, we urge the University community
to demand that the University of Michigan Press Executive Board continue its distribution contract with Pluto Press.
This ad is sponsored by the Committee for the Open Discussion of Zionism.
it's mission statement, background information and addresses for the Chair of the Executive Board of the U.of M.
Press, and other relevant officials are available on the CODZ website www.codz.org.
SOCIETY
From page 5A
Seva restaurant, but Anderson
wasn't interested - and neither
were the PRs after my description
of the restaurant wasn't upscale
enough for their tastes (I may
have used the words "earthy"
and/or "granola," but I really do
love the tempeh stir-fry). And the
Chop House - that storied Russell
Crowe haunt - was too indicative
of, uh, meat. I suggested Pacific
Rim, The Earl and Eve. The PRs
also had menus on hand for Grat-
zi and Real Seafood. An extra
challenge was that they already
had seafood the night before, at
Mitchell's in Birmingham. This is
like one of those logical thinking
puzzles from grade school: Can
you guess where the pair endedup
dining?
While I frantically transcribed
the interview notes before my
laptop died afterward in the
Townsend lobby, the Denver Nug-
gets bus unloaded and the players
streamed into the hotel. I only
realized that the 76ers traded
Allen Iverson to the Nuggets 10
months ago when I saw At prac-
ticing what can only be described
as animal noises in the lobby. But
more timely, I did find out that
Detroit's new MGM Grand is ahit,
at least with one Nuggets player
sitting next to me who told a cou-
ple of lady friends he was heading
back to the casino that nightaeven
after a financially unsuccessful
outing the night before.
As this went on, I made small
talk with a "Darjeeling" PR rep
while she waited to take Ahlu-
walia to the airport. She agreed
that the sudden celebrity influx
was surprising. "And I just ran
into Seth Rogen!" she exclaimed.
I lingered for a bit, brainstorming
for this column as my laptop bat-
tery drained and contemplating
how to find this Seth Rogen. ButI
think by that time Wes Anderson
had caught me sneaking too many
glances at him in the hotel's Rugby
Grill, and I opted to head out.
- Chou still hasn't figured out the
dinner puzzle. What does that mean
for her LSAT? E-mail highsociety@
umich.edu, you obsessed hipsters.
0
0
DAILY ARTS.
Apply for the chance to shmooze with celebrities. And us.
E-mail klein@michigandaily.com
a
810 S State Street 222-4822 - 1906 Packard 995-9940 - btbburrito.com
1 "
6
0