The Yards (2000) has been one of those movies that has always sat there on my “Must watch” lists, and I’ve never felt strongly compelled to watch it, thinking to myself, “Yeah, yeah, I’ll get around to it.” After seeing Armageddon Time and watching Two Lovers for the first time, I was more inclined to see director James Gray’s earlier work, and I was pleasantly surprised to find how much I really liked The Yards. Like, I knew it would be good and a solid New York crime drama about corruption. An update of On The Waterfront but indebted to the 1970s approach of Francis Ford Coppola and Sidney Lumet, mumbled conversations in hallways, character actors in suits holding backroom meetings, and hard moral choices between keeping your mouth shut or taking a stand. What defines Gray’s filmmaking is the sense of place – the way in which apartment rooms feel lived in and real – and the characterisation shading in all of these archetypes into believable people, delivered by a great cast giving excellent performances.
Leo Handler (Mark Wahlberg) arrives home from a stint in prison, taking the blame for a car theft that he and his friends were involved in, and in the opening sequence, he is welcomed by his single mother Val (Ellen Burstyn), his aunt Kitty (Faye Dunaway), his cousin Erica (Charlize Theron) and her boyfriend and Leo’s friend Willie (Joaquin Phoenix). Leo is looking for work at his uncle’s company, Frank (played by James Caan), who provide engineering and maintenance to the city’s rail system; Phoenix’s character also works there in management, but fundamentally greasing the wheels and making under-the-table deals to get city contracts. It doesn’t take long for the extra money that Leo is earning to go bad, and when a mission to sabotage a competitor’s trains goes wrong, Leo is once again left holding the bag and tasked to make a hard choice to keep a wider investigation from happening.
On one hand, the movie goes where you expect it, but on the other hand, it’s the weight that Gray and his collaborators give to the scenes which makes them grounded and full of tension. Adding considerably to the neo-noir atmosphere is the cinematography by Harris Savides and the brilliant use of lighting and shadows; the use of constant black-outs in the neighbourhood is a masterstroke for how darkness and deep shadows are used in key scenes. All of this is also complemented by a stirring, strong score by composer Howard Shore. Everyone in the cast is great, and it’s wonderful to see familiar character actors in the supporting cast like Tony Mustante, Victor Argo, Tomas Millan, and Steve Lawrence. An underrated New York crime melodrama that feels of a piece with Gray’s understanding of the city, like his next film, We Own The Night also starring Wahlberg and Phoenix. I appreciate how Gray invests in a classic approach to narrative, hitting points you might expect, but finding a deeper register, taking you through the character’s struggle in the face of a difficult choice. There is tragedy to The Yards but also a feeling of inevitability and rather than wrapping things up with a cathartic gun-fight, knows that things are usually resolved in a back-room deal where money sets the agenda. Recommended.
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