The Yards

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Jack H @JackaDie Jul 12 i found this a surprisingly delicate film. It clearly deserves a higher RT score See more Matthew D @OceanSage Jan 27 Darkness is in the train yards and the souls of wicked men in James Gray’s fantastic crime drama. Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix are fantastic in James Gray’s dark and gritty crime drama The Yards (2000). I don’t know how I had not seen this, but it’s fantastic. Gray portrays the seedy underbelly of the corrupt business of train yards that have their own payoffs and mafia style hits to knee cap the competition. Mark Wahlberg is excellent as the perpetual fall guy Leo Handler. Wahlberg feels like a gullible, if well intentioned rube, who keeps taking the morally bankrupt path. Wahlberg gives one of his best acting performances in The Yards. Joaquin Phoenix is amazing as the sleazy Willie Gutierrez, who deals with bribes, all for his own benefit. He’s great as a selfish prick who would turn on his old friend. His lying and glares all look so sinister. Charlize Theron is gorgeous and touching as Phoenix’s Goth girlfriend Erica Soltz, who doesn’t know what type of guy she’s dating. See more keven q @kevenquinlan Oct 7 It's ok. Worth a watch if you have nothing better to do. Great cast but the story doesn't really evolve into much and it ends rather abruptly and unceremoniously. I'm not going to keep it in my collection but not bummed I watched it. See more Arthur D @RT98367285 08/04/2025 Acting was good. Interesting plot and resolution to the issue. Sometimes it seemed to lag. At times the viewer did not know what was going to happen next. See more Steve D @RT35616104 01/31/2024 A strong cast and not much else. See more jack s @RT58840043 01/22/2022 I understand that The Yards is supposed to be about real people trying to do the best they can within a system that's rotten to the core. I also appreciate that the screenplay is supposed to be more complex than a standard good vs evil crime story. But even so, I'm sorry to say that every character onscreen (except for Wahlberg's saintly mother, played by Burstyn) is hopelessly corrupt. It's simply impossible to respect or care about any of them. For example, stand-up guy, Leo (Wahlberg) goes to prison rather than rat on his friends, but then does an about-face after his release and does exactly that to his family when he inevitably gets into trouble. Separately, Theron's character appears shocked when she suddenly learns her boyfriend (Phoenix) is a violent criminal—a fact that's perfectly obvious to every other character, as well as the viewing audience, from the beginning. Although extremely well performed all around by a fine cast, The Yards is relentlessly grim, depressing and ultimately unsatisfying. See more Read all reviews

The Yards

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