There is a good idea hiding somewhere deep inside James Gray's The Yards, which may account for its selection to prestigious film festivals such as Cannes and Toronto.
The story, a film noirish descent into the murky underworld of corruption surrounding the New York subway system and its marshalling yards, seems to have substance and starts off with a bit of flair.
The risky, anti-Hollywood film nevertheless boasts an impressive name cast led by the underrated Mark Wahlberg, rising star Joaquin Phoenix and savvy vet James Caan.
The ensemble is rounded out by Charlize Theron (a glamour girl who is nearly unrecognizable in her dowdy guise), a rejuvenated Ellen Burstyn and even the mercurial Faye Dunaway as Caan's wacko wife.
The filmmaker, co-writer and director Gray, has an interesting background, having done the award-winning Little Odessa in 1994 before disappearing into a sophomore slump that meant The Yards turned into a six-year ordeal.
All that said -- and all those expectations raised -- The Yards sucks us in and then betrays us in cruel fashion.
It unravels halfway through its convoluted plot and then finally self-destructs, ending with a ludicrous, senseless climax.
This big sequence, which brings together all the major characters in the story and 'resolves' the plot, also leaves audiences laughing in derision. There is nothing comic about The Yards. The events are just too stupid to take seriously.
In real life, if things occurred the way they are depicted here, dozens of police, politicians, union leaders and other people would be locked up in jail for being idiots, not to mention for committing crimes and flaunting moral decency.
Don't blame the actors. It's the screenplay from Gray and co-writer, co-producer Matt Reeves that seems to be at fault.
As for Gray's casting, he turned some interesting tricks. Wahlberg's own criminal background eerily mirrors the back story of the character he plays. When he returns to his family from jail, he is subdued, and obliged to make good with his mother, something Wahlberg can relate to personally.
Given that Burstyn plays his mother in the movie -- and she is back in her prime playing these tortured yet dignified mother characters -- it makes their scenes together riveting.
Phoenix is equally appealing as Wahlberg's morally conflicted best friend. Caan appears as Wahlberg's uncle, a businessman whose success in selling goods and services to the subway system depends on his connections and corruption.
If all these stalwarts had been put into service on a movie that was better worked out, The Yards might have justified all the fuss made over it at film festivals.
(This film is rated AA)
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