The Yards (2000)

Director:

James Gray

Writers (WGA):

James Gray (written by) &
Matt Reeves (written by)

Release Date:

27 April 2000 (Singapore)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

There's nothing more dangerous than an innocent man.

Plot:

In the rail yards of Queens, contractors repair and rebuild the city's subway cars. These contracts are lucrative...

Plot Keywords:

Contractor | Corruption | Subway | Ex Convict | Sabotage

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Mark Wahlberg	...	Leo Handler
Joaquin Phoenix	...	Willie Gutierrez
Charlize Theron	...	Erica Soltz
James Caan	...	Frank Olchin
Ellen Burstyn	...	Val Handler
Faye Dunaway	...	Kitty Olchin
Steve Lawrence	...	Arthur Mydanick
Andy Davoli	...	Raymond Price (as Andrew Davoli)
Tony Musante	...	Seymour Korman
Victor Argo	...	Paul Lazarides
Tomas Milian	...	Manuel Sequiera
Robert Montano	...	Hector Gallardo
Victor Arnold	...	Albert Granada
Chad Aaron	...	Bernard Soltz
Louis Guss	...	Nathan Grodner

MPAA:

Rated R for language, violence and a scene of sexuality.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:Unrated (2005 DVD Directors Cut) | Iceland:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R (PCA #37362) | Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

For Leo's and Willie's fight, the actors agreed to actually fight each other. Although they wore knee and elbow pads, everything on screen is actually Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg beating each other up. There are no stunts and the entire thing was taken in two takes from three different angles. The next day, the actors were black and blue.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The cars in the "subway yard" are not actually subway cars; they are circa-1963 suburban commuter coaches for the Metro-North & Long Island Railroads.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Beantown (2007)

Soundtrack:

Affirmation

Not Quite Perfect

Imagine a painting hanging in a museum. It's a masterfully rendered portrait of a family, a house in the background. Maybe a lake off to one side. The picture is absolutely flawless, and if you merely glance at it, or even give it the once-over, you can recognize it as a picture of a house and a family, and move on.

But if you stop to look at it, it's not quite perfect. The color of a scarf clashes with the rest of mom's outfit. That squirrel in the tree only has three legs. Little things to let you know that the artist, while talented, still hasn't perfected his craft. Or, more likely, if the painting weren't so excellently rendered, you wouldn't be able to point out the scarf, or the squirrel, or any of the finer details.

Like this painting, we have "The Yards," a story centering on Leo Handler (Wahlberg), freshly released from prison and trying to look after himself and his mother. The story is well-told, the characters (with the exception of Dunaway) are carefully acted, and this character-driven drama is fascinating to watch.

But taken as a whole, parts of the film were just overlooked. Wahlberg acts with a blank stare, his character just as dumb as his character in "Boogie Nights." None of the female characters exist for any reason except for the audience to feel pity for them. Every death is predictable, minutes before it happens. And the entire story spirals into such a depressing destination, I can't at all think of who I could recommend this film to. It was well-made, but James Gray would do better as a playwright with material like this.

An exquisitely well-made, beautifully directed film. The pictures are wonderful and the performances are excellent, but be warned that this film is a serious, serious downer. May the director find lighter material soon.