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Wednesday, Mar 10, 2010
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Now that blockbuster season is over, Hollywood brings out the best films |
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| Now that blockbuster season is over, Hollywood brings out the best films | ||
| by Rajkhet Dirzhud-Rashid -
SGN A&E Writer We Own The Night Directed by James Gray Starring Joauquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Robert Duvall, Eva Mendes Opens October 12th The Darjeeling Limited Directed by Wes Anderson Starring Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Amara Karan, Opens October 12th I've always liked police dramas. Those being the movies that focus not only on the officers, but the inner world of those officers for whom there is a tradition of family members having been on the force for generations. Having said that, I must say I came to We Own The Night, the new film starring Joauquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg and Robert Duval, with a clear bias to like it. I'm glad the film didn't disappoint me, though. I could have completely done without the forgettable and even irritating performance by Eva Mendes, (who stars as the girlfriend of Phoenix's club owner character). The film is set in New York, and Wahlberg and Duval play New York police officers, father and son. The film opens with an interesting, almost noir montage of black and white photos from 'back in the day' of the New York Police Department. From this montage, we cut to the interior of the bar that the other son owns, a place where drugs and Russian drug lords flourish. It's 1988, and a crowd dances, while other minions are doing coke at the lavish bar, and 'bad son', Phoenix is trying to do his girlfriend (Mendes), in a back room. Cut to the more low key celebration at a local church, where 'good son', Wahlberg is being feted by the department, having just made captain, something his father (Duval), is clearly proud of. The unfortunate collision of these two worlds, with their very different agendas is at the core of the film, pitting brother against brother, and ultimately causing them, and their father to make tragic choices. In the middle of this almost Shakespearean drama is the menace and violence of the Russian mob, who has made themselves at home in the 'bad brother's' club, using the club as a distribution point for their next big shipment. And in the middle of settling the score, and cleaning up the city, the two brothers and all of the people in their lives become enmeshed, with much carnage as the task is fulfilled. A film that'll keep you on the edge of your seat, and one that, like The Departed, might get Phoenix and Wahlberg Oscar nods next year. On a much more subtle, and humorous note, The Darjeeling Limited (which stars timeless beauty Anjelica Huston) is a film that'll invest itself in your memory for entirely different reasons. Showcasing the talents of Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman as three brothers who embark on what they hope will be a spiritual quest to find the love they seem to have lost, The Darjeeling Limited is a delicious little film. Set in India, the film meanders along, even as it spotlights the rare and delicate sights of this exotic locale, and there are some delightfully funny moments too. I liked this film the way one can like having a certain, beautiful dream that one doesn't expect to have. And though I've never liked Wilson as an actor in anything before, he shows in this film that he does have the ability to bring something more than zany foolishness to the screen. But my clear favorite in the film is the always enjoyable Brody, who plays the broody middle brother, the one who insists on being independent, even as he goes along with the plans of his older brother's itinerary (Wilson). I'm not sure I'd call this an Oscar worthy film, but one never knows. At any rate, it's certainly worth the price of a ticket, if only for the fact that in our dismal weather of late, the bright colors of India might feel like a visual vacation. |
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