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