Over-plotted civic corruption drama jones like mad to be SERPICO or THE GODFATHER, which its 2-hr running time can’t accommodate. Back in BKLN after a spell in jail, Mark Wahlberg lands in fresh shit when best pal Joaquin Phoenix (calling too much attention to himself in a self-centered perf) plants him for a murder rap. Something to do with James Caan’s train repair shop, long doing dirt on the competition, now getting outbid & outplayed. Throw in Ellen Burstyn, Charlize Theron, Faye Dunaway (surprisingly effective), plus Steve Lawrence (even better), and you’d think somebody would have shown up to watch. Director James Gray hits his post-dated targets, but lays the secondhand dramatics on pretty thick (pretty dark, too, someone turn on a light!), missing the pop/cultural Zeitgeist by a mile.
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