Gangster films were often accused of distorting reality and, in some cases, even glamorising and inadvertently promoting a life of crime. Some of those complaints are valid because criminal activity in real life is often banal, petty and visually unattractive. It takes very special talents to make gangster films that would be an authentic depiction of real life and attractive to the audience at the same time. One of the people with such talents is James Gray whose 2000 crime drama The Yards represents one of the more realistic depictions of the criminal underworld.
The script, written by Gray and Matt Reeves, is loosely inspired by a 1980s New York City corruption scandal that involved Gray's father. The protagonist is Leo Handler (played by Mark Wahlberg), a young man who is paroled after serving one and a half years in prison for car theft. When he returns home, he receives a hero's welcome from friends and family because he refused to testify against his co-conspirators in exchange for a lighter sentence. Leo wants to start a new life and his mother Val (played by Ellen Burstyn) wants to get him a job at a railway car repair company owned by their distant cousin Frank Olchin (played by James Caan). Leo might get the job, but only if he finishes a two-year machinist course first. Unfortunately, his mother is gravely ill so, in order to finance her therapy, Leo agrees to work for Frank, but in another way. His friend Willie Guttierez (played by Joaquin Phoenix) runs a crew that "fixes" Frank's problems with competition – bribing city officials and sabotaging rivals' equipment. During one of those seemingly routine jobs, things go catastrophically wrong and Leo becomes a suspect for the murder of a security guard. Leo is forced to hide and not only from the police but from his partners and family who are concerned that this time he might testify in order to save his skin. The only help Leo gets comes from Erica Soltz (played by Charlize Theron), his cousin and Willie's girlfriend.
Gray, who had been hailed for his debut Little Odessa, a film with a similar theme, a few years earlier, had significantly less success with the critics for his second film. The reason might be found in The Yards offering an even bleaker picture of New York City and America in general than the previous film. While Little Odessa depicted crime in a somewhat exotic immigrant neighbourhood that could pass as an aberration, The Yards shows it as the norm. Gray's protagonists are representatives of ordinary blue-collar America who work hard and earn little and for whom criminal activities represent the only available alternative for a decent life or merely making ends meet. Gray's script paints an even more disturbing picture in which the line between criminal and "honest" life is much more blurred than anyone thinks. Crime in most cases doesn't involve violence nor direct threatening of someone's existence, starting with mere "cutting corners" and, therefore, becomes acceptable and, in some cases, the only available way of life. Individuals from the lower strata of society are unable to fight it, even more so because corruption affects the police, government and business circles. Gray depicts a phenomenon that, in one way or another, always existed and it would always exist. His realistic depiction is, however, somewhat compromised by a melodramatic, too moralistic and unconvincing finale which was apparently added to the film by producer Harvey Weinstein over Gray's objections.
Despite that flaw, The Yards is a very good film. Gray directs it with great confidence and puts a diverse and talented cast to excellent use. Wahlberg, at first glance, looks somewhat bland but he actually utilises that blandness to successfully portray a character who ended up in prison because of a naive belief in his neighbourhood social norms and, later, when he tries to do the right thing, he is much more convincing. Joaquin Phoenix, who was, thanks to Gladiator, becoming one of the more formidable actors in Hollywood, is great as the protagonist's friend burdened with jealousy and moral dilemmas. Veteran star James Caan is good as a "regular" businessman forced to use some "irregular" business methods, while Charlize Theron delivers a good performance in the thankless role of the protagonist's love interest. The work of a good cast is helped by the bleak locations of New York City that add a lot to the depressive atmosphere, while composer Howard Shore delivers one of the most effective soundtracks in his filmography. The Yards, deeply affected by "creative differences" between Gray and Harvey Weinstein, fared even worse at the box office than with the critics, but this fate was unjustified.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
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