| Photos (See all 63 | slideshow) | Videos (see all 17) |
| Joaquin Phoenix | ... | Bobby Green | |
| Eva Mendes | ... | Amada Juarez | |
| Danny Hoch | ... | Jumbo Falsetti | |
| Alex Veadov | ... | Vadim Nezhinski | |
| Oleg Taktarov | ... | Pavel Lubyarsky | |
| Dominic Colon | ... | Freddie | |
| Joe D'Onofrio | ... | Bloodied Patron | |
| Yelena Solovey | ... | Kalina Buzhayev (as Elena Solovey) | |
| Moni Moshonov | ... | Marat Buzhayev | |
| Mark Wahlberg | ... | Joseph Grusinsky | |
| Maggie Kiley | ... | Sandra Grusinsky | |
| Paul Herman | ... | Spiro Giavannis | |
| Robert Duvall | ... | Burt Grusinsky | |
| Antoni Corone | ... | Michael Solo | |
| Craig Walker | ... | Russell De Keifer | |
| Tony Musante | ... | Jack Shapiro | |
| Claudia Lopez | ... | Claudia | |
| Katie Condidorio | ... | Hazel | |
| Edward Shkolnikov | ... | Eli Mirichenko (as Ed Shkolnikov) | |
| Katya Savina | ... | Eli & Masha's Daughter | |
| Matthew Djentchouraev | ... | Eli & Masha's Son (as Matthew Djentchouraen) | |
| Scott Nicholson | ... | Nat the Cop | |
| Robert C. Kirk | ... | Sergeant Provenzano (as Robert Kirk) | |
| Al Linea | ... | Portly Cop | |
| Teddy Coluca | ... | Uniformed Cop #1 (as Ted Coluca) | |
| Frank Girardeau | ... | Police Chaplain | |
| Joseph Coffey | ... | Uniformed Cop #2 | |
| Jose Edwin Soto | ... | Latino Man (as Jose E. Soto) | |
| Greg Wilson | ... | Poker Player | |
| Ed Koch | ... | Mayor | |
| Fred Burrell | ... | Commissioner Ruddy | |
| Michael Massimino | ... | Hospital Guard | |
| Edward Conlon | ... | Hospital Guard #2 (as Ed Conlon) | |
| Sharon Wilkins | ... | Nurse | |
| Ross Brodar | ... | Tattooed Man (as Ross Broder) | |
| Francis Toumbakaris | ... | Slavic Youth | |
| Hoon Lee | ... | Emergency Services Driver | |
| Barbara Ann Davison | ... | Neighbor Lady | |
| Irwin Gray | ... | Neighbor | |
| Luigi Scorcia | ... | Luigi | |
| Miriam Cruz | ... | Amada's Mother | |
| Doug Torres | ... | Schneider | |
| Tony Guida | ... | Vitt the Guard | |
| Robert McKay | ... | Riker's Desk Guard | |
| Blaise Corrigan | ... | Uniformed Police Officer | |
| Karl Bury | ... | Random Cop | |
| Coati Mundi | ... | Himself | |
| Joe Forbrich | ... | Guard | |
| Robert A. Pennacchia | ... | Guard (as Robert Pennacchia) | |
| Richard Petrocelli | ... | Tough Looking Cop | |
| Nik Pjeternikaj | ... | Albanian Drug Lord | |
| Jamal Weathers | ... | Parabolic Engineer | |
| Elliot Santiago | ... | El Caribe Bouncer #1 | |
| Jeff Ward | ... | El Caribe Bouncer #2 | |
| Christopher Place | ... | El Caribe Party Patron #1 (as Chris Place) | |
| Samantha MacIvor | ... | El Caribe Party Patron #2 | |
| Bob Colletti | ... | El Caribe Party Patron #3 | |
| Aaron Vexler | ... | El Caribe Party Patron #4 | |
| Victor Tatarkin | ... | Vadim's Goon #2 | |
| Patrick M. Walsh | ... | Eli Bodyguard (as Pat Walsh) | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Alba Albanese | ... | Veronica | |
| Salvatore Inzerillo | ... | Police Reporter | |
| Douglas J. Aguirre | ... | Bobby Green's Bodyguard (uncredited) | |
| Ashley Avis | ... | Vadim's Girlfriend (uncredited) | |
| James Balsamo | ... | Club Dancer (uncredited) | |
| Edwin J. Birmingham | ... | ESU Officer (uncredited) | |
| Robert Bizik | ... | Police Officer (uncredited) | |
| John Borras | ... | Riker's Prison Guard (uncredited) | |
| Mike Burke | ... | Pavel's Driver (uncredited) | |
| Dominick Cicco | ... | Police Officer (uncredited) | |
| J.W. Cortes | ... | Bouncer Cortez (uncredited) | |
| Erin Deighan | ... | El Caribe Party Patron (uncredited) | |
| Turi Haim | ... | Dancer (uncredited) | |
| Gina Hernandez | ... | Policeman's Wife (uncredited) | |
| Philip E Jones | ... | Strip Club Visitor (uncredited) | |
| Edward M. Kelahan | ... | Bar Patron (uncredited) | |
| Nina Lisandrello | ... | Bobby's Friend (uncredited) | |
| Bernadette Lords | ... | El Caribe Party Patron (uncredited) | |
| Robert Myers | ... | Graduation Attendee (uncredited) | |
| Robert Nardi | ... | TNT Cop in shootout (uncredited) | |
| Karen Nazarov | ... | Slavic Drug Packager (uncredited) | |
| Tyler Noble | ... | Bobby's Friend (uncredited) | |
| Loukas Papas | ... | El Caribe Party Guest (uncredited) | |
| Martin Pfefferkorn | ... | Perp in Precinct (uncredited) | |
| Alexandra Tejeda Rieloff | ... | Cop's Wife (uncredited) | |
| Marilyn Salisbury | ... | Mourner (uncredited) | |
| Kristen Schiano | ... | Nightclub Guest (uncredited) | |
| Aaron Scotti | ... | El Caribe Party Patron (uncredited) | |
| Richard Shankman | ... | TNT Detective - Joseph's Unit (uncredited) | |
| Sybelle Silverphoenix | ... | Club Goer (uncredited) | |
| Christopher Stadulis | ... | Police Officer (uncredited) | |
| Stream | ... | El Caribe Party Patron (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| James Gray | |||
Writing credits(WGA) | ||
| James Gray | (written by) | |
Produced by | |||
| Marc Butan | .... | producer | |
| Mark Cuban | .... | executive producer | |
| Anthony Katagas | .... | executive producer | |
| Joaquin Phoenix | .... | producer | |
| Couper Samuelson | .... | co-producer | |
| Mike Upton | .... | co-producer | |
| Todd Wagner | .... | executive producer | |
| Mark Wahlberg | .... | producer | |
| Nick Wechsler | .... | producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Wojciech Kilar | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Joaquín Baca-Asay | (director of photography) (as Joaquin Baca-Asay) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| John Axelrad | |||
Casting by | |||
| Douglas Aibel | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Ford Wheeler | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| James C. Feng | (as James Feng) | ||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Catherine Davis | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Michael Clancy | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Margot Boccia | .... | makeup artist: Ms. Mendes | |
| Milton Buras | .... | department head hair stylist | |
| Mary Cooke | .... | hair stylist (as Mary Cook) | |
| Kelly Gleason | .... | makeup department head | |
| Dallas Hartnett | .... | hair stylist | |
| John James | .... | key makeup artist: second unit | |
| Craig Lindberg | .... | key hair stylist: second unit | |
| Craig Lindberg | .... | makeup artist | |
| Donald Mowat | .... | makeup artist: Mr. Wahlberg (as Donald J. Mowat) | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Craig Haagensen | .... | second unit director | |
| Brian Kenyon | .... | additional assistant director | |
| Patrick Mangan | .... | first assistant director: second unit | |
| Patrick Mangan | .... | key second assistant director | |
| Patrick McDonald | .... | additional assistant director | |
| Les McDonough | .... | additional second assistant director (as Leslie McDonough) | |
| Les McDonough | .... | second assistant director: second unit (as Leslie McDonough) | |
| Francisco Ortiz | .... | second second assistant director | |
| Doug Torres | .... | first assistant director | |
Special Effects by | |||
| Drew Jiritano | .... | special effects coordinator | |
| Drew Jiritano | .... | special effects coordinator: second unit | |
| Andrew Mortelliti | .... | special effects technician | |
| Ian O'Connor | .... | special effects coordinator: visual effects unit | |
| Neil Ruddy | .... | special effects | |
| Andrea Swistak | .... | special effects foreman: second unit | |
| Louie Zakarian | .... | prosthetic application and design | |
| Josiah Patrow | .... | effects camera assistant (uncredited) | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Eric Adkins | .... | director of photography: visual effects unit | |
| Radoslav Bakalov | .... | digital effects artist (as Rado Bakalov) | |
| Jamie Baxter | .... | digital compositor: Custom Film Effects | |
| Scott E. Baxter | .... | digital effects artist: Digital Domain | |
| Ryan Beadle | .... | digital I/O | |
| Brian Begun | .... | digital compositor: Digital Domain | |
| Alicia Bissinger | .... | digital rotoscope/paint artist: Digital Domain | |
| John Bozzalla | .... | manager of production services | |
| Steve Caldwell | .... | digital compositor: Custom Film Effects | |
| Chad E. Collier | .... | scanning and recording operator: Digital Domain | |
| Lee Croft | .... | digital compositor: Digital Domain | |
| Janelle Croshaw | .... | digital compositor | |
| Samuel M. Dabbs | .... | digital compositor | |
| Alan De Castro | .... | digital compositor: Pacific Title | |
| Eric Deinzer | .... | digital rotoscope/paint artist: Digital Domain | |
| Mark Dornfeld | .... | visual effects supervisor: Custom Film Effects | |
| Joshua Doud | .... | data integration artist | |
| Sven Dreesbach | .... | digital artist | |
| Mark Duckworth | .... | digital rotoscope/paint artist: Digital Domain | |
| Scott Edelstein | .... | 3D integration lead: Digital Domain | |
| Jenn Epstein | .... | digital paint & rotoscope artist: Digital Domain | |
| Michele Ferrone | .... | visual effects producer | |
| David Geoghegan | .... | digital compositor: Pacific Title | |
| Navjit Singh Gill | .... | technical assistant | |
| Joanna N. Goslicka | .... | digital rotoscope/paint artist: Digital Domain (as Joanna Goslicka) | |
| R.J. Harbour | .... | digital compositor | |
| Ian A. Harris | .... | digital rotoscope/paint artist: Digital Domain | |
| Ronald D. Herbst | .... | digital texture painter: Digital Domain | |
| Shaina Holmes | .... | digital compositor | |
| Shaina Holmes | .... | digital coordinator | |
| Christopher Holsey | .... | scan record supervisor | |
| Melissa Huerta | .... | digital artist: Digital Domain | |
| Steven Hur | .... | technical assistant | |
| Dag Ivarsoy | .... | digital compositor: Digital Domain | |
| Hilery Johnson | .... | lead digital rotoscope/paint artist: Digital Domain (as Hilery Johnson Copeland) | |
| Nicholas Kim | .... | digital compositor | |
| Paul Kirsch | .... | digital compositor: Digital Domain | |
| Lawrence Klein | .... | visual effects editor: Digital Domain | |
| Cristian A. Kong | .... | digital compositor | |
| Paulina Kuszta | .... | visual effects coordinator | |
| Jeremy Lang | .... | head of information technology: Custom Film Effects | |
| Julian Levi | .... | visual effects producer | |
| Kent Lidke | .... | CG effects artist: Digital Domain | |
| Robert Liscombe | .... | digital rotoscope/paint artist: Digital Domain | |
| Jo Lockman | .... | scanning and recording operator: Digital Domain | |
| Jake Maymudes | .... | compositor: nuke, Digital Domain | |
| Lori C. Miller | .... | digital art director: Custom Film Effects (as Lori Miller) | |
| Colleen Murphy | .... | digital producer | |
| Mike Ocoboc | .... | digital compositor | |
| Marlo Pabon | .... | digital compositor: Digital Domain (as Marlo J. Pabon) | |
| Bradley Parker | .... | visual effects supervisor: Digital Domain (as Brad Parker) | |
| Iva Petkova | .... | visual effects supervisor | |
| Tom Piedmont | .... | dustbuster | |
| Darren Poe | .... | digital compositor: Digital Domain (as Darren M. Poe) | |
| Kelly Port | .... | visual effects supervisor | |
| Laurie Powers | .... | digital art director: Custom Film Effects | |
| Matthew Rundell | .... | visual effects producer: B2 Post | |
| Olivier Sarda | .... | compositing supervisor: Digital Domain (as Olivier P. Sarda) | |
| Todd Sarsfield | .... | digital compositor: Digital Domain | |
| Christopher Savides | .... | color grader | |
| Mark Sawicki | .... | digital compositor | |
| Jarom Sidwell | .... | visual effects coordinator | |
| Linda Tremblay | .... | digital compositor: Digital Domain (as Linda Tremblay-Geibel) | |
| Mike Uguccioni | .... | visual effects supervisor | |
| Ed Ulbrich | .... | visual effects executive producer | |
| Douglas Wilkinson | .... | digital compositor: Digital Domain | |
| Amani Williams | .... | digital compositor | |
| Howard Cabalfin | .... | digital artist (uncredited) | |
| Gregory Duncan | .... | production assistant: Digital Domain (uncredited) | |
| Amanda Hampton | .... | pipeline engineer (uncredited) | |
| Thomas Mathai | .... | data manager (uncredited) | |
| Mitch Paulson | .... | digital colorist assist (uncredited) | |
Casting Department | |||
| Shawn Edward | .... | extras casting associate | |
| Stephanie Holbrook | .... | casting associate | |
| Meredith Jacobson | .... | extras casting | |
| Adam Vincentz | .... | extras casting associate | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Denise Andres | .... | costumer | |
| Debbe DuPerrieu | .... | costume supervisor: second unit | |
| Debbe DuPerrieu | .... | set costumer | |
| Eileen Goh | .... | set costumer | |
| Barrett Hong | .... | key set costumer | |
| Lisa Kisner | .... | production assistant: costume department | |
| Joseph La Corte | .... | first key costumer | |
| Evelyn Mejia | .... | wardrobe production assistant | |
| Cassidy Mosher | .... | wardrobe production assistant | |
| Marcia Patten | .... | costume supervisor | |
| Brianna Patterson | .... | costume assistant | |
| Andy Plovnick | .... | wardrobe production assistant | |
| Laura Steinman | .... | costume supervisor | |
| Adam Watt | .... | wardrobe production assistant | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Tom Cross | .... | additional editor | |
| Bob Fredrickson | .... | color timer | |
| Josh Olive | .... | colorist: video dailies | |
| Kiran Pallegadda | .... | assistant editor | |
| Joe Violante | .... | dailies advisor | |
| Steve Bowen | .... | digital intermediate colorist (uncredited) | |
Music Department | |||
| Rick Kline | .... | score mixer | |
| Rafal Paczkowski | .... | score recordist | |
| Aleksandra Rojek | .... | soloist: oboe | |
| John Roome | .... | score music | |
| Angie Rubin | .... | music editor | |
| Dana Sano | .... | music supervisor | |
| Christopher Spelman | .... | music consultant | |
| Libby Umstead | .... | music coordinator (as Elizabeth Umstead) | |
| Antoni Wit | .... | conductor | |
Thanks | |||
| J.J. Abrams | .... | thanks | |
| Bryan Burk | .... | special thanks | |
| Lorenzo di Bonaventura | .... | special thanks | |
| James Gunn | .... | special thanks | |
| Mark Romanek | .... | special thanks | |
| Mike Spera | .... | thanks | |
| Mike Uguccioni | .... | special thanks (as Michael Uguccioni) | |
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Crime section | IMDb USA section |
The Grusinsky family is a family of cops, father Bert is Deputy Chief and son Joe is Captain. However son Bobby has shunned this side of the family and, to Bert's chagrin, is using his mother's maiden name and is running a club in Brooklyn, mixing with those who see the police as a joke and the city as theirs. As a result the family is split, with neither willing to see the others' point of view. When Joe leads a raid on Booby's club and picks up several men of a high-profile Russian mobster the outcome is bloodshed - with a hit put out on Joe. With the Russians unaware of the family connection, Bobby must decide who he stands with and the risks he is willing to take for his family.
We Own the Night came and went in the cinemas over here and struck me as being one of those thrillers that gets made that is solid enough to watch but not remarkable enough to do really well. This was enough to make me check it out anyway though and it turned out to be pretty much what it appeared to be in the overview. This is no bad thing though because a solid thriller is still a solid thriller and sometimes that is a welcome relief from all the noisy, superficial blockbusters handed to us week in, week out. Set in the 1980's, the film does recall the cop thrillers of the 1970's to a certain point and it does feel like an old fashioned film in terms of the characters and the way it is shot and the rather grey and oppressive feel to the city of the time does lend itself to the narrative.
It's not a film of gripping tension though. There are several really well done scenes that are unbearably tragic and tense (the shoot-out between cars is particularly good) but mostly the film takes a slower pace that focuses on the characters. It is a good direction to go but the problem is that Gray allows it all to get just that bit too sombre and heavy and it does have an impact on the film in regards slowing it down somewhat. This seems to have been passed onto the cast as well, who are generally restrained in their emotions - again not a massive criticism but it does feel a bit like all these factors are weighing down the film to a certain extent. Phoenix impresses despite this and he does convince in his character even if he himself comes over like he has a weight on his shoulders that is crushing him; I get that that is part of his character but again it adds this sense of slowness to proceedings. Wahlberg is underused and has too little time and opportunity to make the most of his character - he is very much a supporting player. Duvall is better because his presence adds more and the lack of time doesn't take away from him as he does what he has to do. I enjoyed seeing Mendes doing more than being her usual foxy and a bit playful self - trust me, I do love her in that mode but she is capable of more. Gray and his cinematographer provide style when it matters but I think he is mostly responsible for the rather heavy feel to the entire film and it does rather suck the energy out of the film.
I'm not suggesting that this film should have been zingy and "fun" but just that it is sombre to the point of being a bit too much like hard work at times. In terms of content, characters and themes I found that it all worked but that this sense of weight did affect it. Still a solid film that is dramatically satisfying in an old fashioned way but these issues do prevent it being as memorable as it could have been.