The Yards

A young man is released from prison (for a crime he did not commit) and immediately becomes embroiled in a web of dishonest dealings when he takes a job in the New York subway yards. Leo gains employment through old friend, Willie, whose uncle Frank holds a high-ranking position in the New York Transit authority. Unbeknownst to Leo however Frank is a corrupt operator who, to his thinking, is simply working within a contaminated system, bribing officials, using strong-arm tactics, and sabotaging rivals where necessary. Leo faces a serious dilemma when a routine job goes wrong and he is forced to choose between informing on the family and life in prison. The second feature from James Gray mines similar territory to his first feature “Little Odessa” - the grimy underworld territory of crime and violence set amid the conflicts of family. Gray builds the tension nicely, especially when Leo goes on the lam, and in his depiction of sanctioned corruption, even if the film does at times mine well-worn tropes of the genre. Cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron, James Caan, Ellen Burstyn and Faye Dunaway.