THE YARDS review

About three weeks ago I had a wonderful day of filmgoing... and I forgot to review one of them... THE YARDS by James “Little Odessa” Gray.

I stumbled into this film with almost zero knowledge in advance. All I knew was that it seemed like it was a Mafia film. Machine Gun deaths... black suits and expensive ties.... lots of wine sipping and pasta swallowing... There would be complicated ta dos about knocking off the competition... Hitmen... Godfathers... soldiers and police corruption.

This is what I took with me at the Metropolitan Theater here in Austin... I had been sent no press kit, no trailers or interviews. This was a cold screening in an empty theater. Only El Cosmico, Father Geek, Quint and the lovely Ivory were in attendance... along with some good ol Daily Texan folks (the local University newspaper)

It took about twenty minutes to get that this wasn’t a Mafia movie... this was a drama... not only that but it was a drama in the style of ON THE WATERFRONT, but minus that film’s absolute genius.

THE YARDS is not a bad film... quite to the contrary. The cast: James Caan, Faye Dunaway, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron, Ellen Burstyn and Mark Wahlberg... is wonderful. And for some viewers the movie might feel a bit pedestrian... but I really got into the deliberate storytelling... sure it can be slow for some... This isn’t a MAFIA film in the tommy gun assassinations.... or the strangled eye-bulging purplish tongue manner....

Instead, this film is very much upon the shoulders of its actors and their performances.... Luckily for director James Gray... he has an excellent ensemble of actors.

Now if I could draw a parallel to a film this most reminded me of... which I liked, but have the feeling that most seemed to not.... is THE NEWTON BOYS.

In the case of THE NEWTON BOYS, you had a well performed, perfectly delightful story... but ultimately I think most of the detractors will believe or wonder why the talent was used for this particular story. In that film, folks believed they were getting into a shoot em up Western or at the very least a western heist style flick... But the film was actually a character piece about a group of basically good people that get involved in something over their heads.

HERE... In THE YARDS.... I believe that perception is the big crime sort of film... but really... these folks are blue collar all the way. James Caan isn’t some big godfather type... He doesn’t want to do illegal things... it’s just an element that comes into play when trying to get government and city contracts.

Most crime films have OVERT bad guys. Folks that relish in being on the shadowy side of society... but James Gray and this film never go there. They decided to give us regular schmoes that when offered a short cut to success... they’ll take it. It’s a natural. Humans tend to like the easiest way. It is why most of us drive, rather than walk. Why we invent air conditioning... as a result you can’t despise or hate any of these characters.

Their biggest fault is not being particularly bright. Wahlberg’s character is just a dumb lug... A fella that got caught, served some time... and wants to be back on his feet... help his mom... he’s Spider-Man with no powers... or brains or talent.

And he’s dead unlucky.

And just like in NEWTON BOYS there are no grandiose characters... Everyone is just performing in a lessor dramatic range.... There are not any real EXTREME MOMENTS... The film is about subtle performances... subtle moments... and bad situations and how to get out of them.

Within those constraints, James Gray has done an excellent job to craft a very nice film. It isn’t the greatest I’ve seen this year, but it is quite a nice little film.

Definitely give it a chance. It sneaks up on ya.