The Yards

2000 Crime Drama

In this drama, a young man joins the family business without knowing that he's entering a world of danger and deceit. Hot-headed Leo Handler (Mark Wahlberg) has had some scrapes with the law and served time for a crime he didn't commit. Hoping to get his life back on track, he takes a job in the New York subway yards, secured by his Uncle Frank (James Caan), who has a high-ranking position in the New York Transit Authority. The longer Leo works in the yards, the more he realizes that his uncle controls a corrupt underworld where graft, violent reprisals, and even death are just part of the job. Will Leo turn against his family in the name of justice, or will he keep quiet and ignore the danger and lawlessness that surround him? The Yards also features Charlize Theron, Joaquin Phoenix, Ellen Burstyn, and Faye Dunaway. It was director James Gray's first film after his acclaimed debut with Little Odessa. more..

Director: James Gray

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron, James Caan, Ellen Burstyn

Reviews

  • So strong and secure in its remorseless movement that you buy into what's happening, its people so firmly gripped in the vise of fate and their own character flaws.

    Kevin Thomas - Los Angeles Times

    20 January 2013

  • It's that ambiguity that makes the film interesting.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    20 January 2013

  • For all its incongruities, The Yards is a serious film that strives for a moral complexity and a textural density rarely found in contemporary dramas.

    Stephen Holden - The New York Times

    20 January 2013

  • By the end, we're left with a feeling of depletion rather than resolution, which may have been Gray's intention.

    Jay Carr - The Boston Globe

    20 January 2013

  • A drama about corruption in the city's transit system that's not only hard boiled but also dipped in egg batter dialogue and deep fried.

    Lisa Schwarzbaum - Entertainment Weekly

    20 January 2013

Awards

  • Best Supporting Actor

    Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2001)

  • James Gray

    Cannes Film Festival (2000)

     
  • Joaquin Phoenix

    San Diego Film Critics Society Awards (2000)

  • Best Supporting Actor

    Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards (2001)