The Yards

"The Yards" invites you to taste corruption and to witness an imposed morality and then slyly allows you to resolve its escalating entanglements. It is a well-acted morality tale written and directed by James Gray that is as topical now as when the first bureaucrat accepted graft. Mark Wahlberg's Leo Handler character is a loser who seeks to redeem himself from the neglect of his sick mother and the evil he has done to others. If only his friends and relatives had similarly good intentions. The world he inhabits is a society with the unwritten code of conduct to never snitch or else pay the consequences. The best scene involves Leo as he nervously proceeds with his orders to kill the policeman who can finger him in the rail yard assault. Can he justify yet one more crime in order to maintain the good graces of his benefactors? Joaquin Phoenix's character, Willie, is perhaps the most tormented figure, having to choose between his high-minded intentions and his immoral survival instincts. He becomes less the controller and more the henchman of what others tell him to do. The excellent cast gives "The Yard" a true flavor of the perverse nature of favoritism from Faye Dunaway and James Caan to Ellen Burstyn and Charlize Theron (in a surprisingly youthful dark mascara look). However, Joan Allen would have added a harsher, more pessimistic visage to the sometimes inappropriately bubbly Burstyn. This film displays well how corruption commands people's lives and how hard it is to break out of that code of conduct.

This is an excellent film, well-written and expertly told. Unlike so many so-called "neo-noir" movies, this one is concerned with time-honored virtues of traditional storytelling, not style and attitude. As a director, Gray had the courage to tell his bleak, oppressive tale in a quiet, measured way, resisting the urge to ratchet up the action and decibels and pander to a jaded audience. If the story gets a bit needlessly contrived by the climax, it's rescued by the exceptional cast. This one can stand with the best of the classic noirs.

. . . you know you've got a movie that tried something different. Not NEW, necessarily, as The Yards is paced, structured and shot like it was made before 1976. But you don't see that often these days. The Yards is an entertaining and noble attempt at a tribute to crime films of that era. I have friends who don't have the attention span to sit through The Godfather(on some days neither do I) - I wouldn't recommend this film to them. Reared as our younger generation was on Spielbergian and MTV-cut films, the pacing of both that film and The Yards are slow and deliberate - sometimes hard to take. The Yards could have used a bit of tightening up in editing, just seconds off of a scene here, a scene there to move things along, but still, it's a strong film. The first thing that caught my eye was the sparse dialogue. There's a lot of acting going on here, and not of the scenery-chewing variety (recent Pacino). The actors are given a lot of room to act with their eyes and bodies. You're not hit over the head with 2-D stock characters, although it may appear so at first. The story is genre: ex-con, returning to his New York borough neighborhood falls right into the same circles that got him in trouble in the first place. What follows is a story of corruption, redemption and family; structured almost as a Greek Tragedy. But quietly. There are no "good guys" or "bad guys", as almost everyone is on the make. The overall impression projected is that everyone is protecting their own and trying to succeed in a system that they live in - not one they created or control.

Mark Wahlberg isn't a great actor, but he delivers what the character requires. Charlize Theron isn't in her element playing a Queens-chick, but aside from a faltering accent, she does pretty well. Excellent acting is delivered by Joachin Phoenix, as well as veterans Caan, Dunaway, and Ellen Burstyn. The Yards is a good movie, although admittedly, not for the "average" movie-going audience. It likely won't meet their expectations of what a "good" movie is.

I expected a lot of this movie and I felt a bit cheated. All right,the reviews weren't that super but with an assembled cast like that,who could blame me. Joaquin Phoenix was great (after his superb role in Gladiator) but leading man Mark Wahlberg seemed a bit lost. Don't get me wrong! He's a fine actor and let's leave it like that. The "oldies" (James Caan,Faye Dunaway,Ellen Burstyn) left behind a good impression. I'll just end by saying that this ain't another Godfather or Goodfellas. Just a decent movie to watch on a rainy day. And ponder on the fact that in this movie the young generation have a lot to learn (including beautiful Charlize Theron) from the "oldies". Excluding Joaquin Phoenix,ofcourse.

The Yards is labelled a thriller, at least here in Sweden, but I think that this movie is a drama more than anything else. A very dark drama about crime and family. I was pleasantly surprised when I realised that this was not the Godfather-wannabe that some people have suggested. The Yards stands on its own, and even though it is no masterpiece it is a very interesting and tense drama with a great cast. Mark Wahlberg does a good job, but Joaquin Phoenix is certainly the stand-out. Also, his complex character is by far more interesting than Wahlberg's stereotype. Great performances from Charlize Theron and James Caan as well. (7/10)