Leo Handler just wants to make it up to his mother. After doing time for grand theft auto, he's come home, to Queens, to start again, to make things right, get a job and help his mother out. Leo is kind of a quiet and understated guy, not usually given to displays of affection or emotion. When he does smile, it feels wonderful and safe. Unfortunately, Leo, played by Mark Wahlberg, has few reasons to be happy in James Gray's newest feature, The Yards. A dark, noir-ish story set against the intrigues of New York City's subway car suppliers, The Yards is Gray's second major film, and it will only add to his reputation as an intelligent filmmaker. The cast of Gray's first major film, Little Odessa, included Vanessa Redgrave. This time around he's got names like James Caan, Faye Dunaway, Charlize Theron and Joaquin Phoenix to work with, in addition to Wahlberg.

You really start to like Leo as you see more and more of his life. He wants to make his ailing mother proud, but it seems like so few things in his life have worked out and this is no exception. He falls into the illegal side of his uncle's subway car business by accident, helped along the way by his best friend Willie. But of course things go wrong (they always do) and Leo ends up the target of a police search for putting a police officer in a coma. By the end of the movie, he has been hunted by his own family; soon after, family members and friends are dead or ailing or going to jail. The sad and crucial thing is, Leo is not a bad guy. He only wanted to make it up to his mother. And in a way, he does. Leo will come out of the whole thing morally untainted, but he can't exactly be happy about it.

So what, exactly, is The Yards trying to do or say? It's a thoughtful film, to be sure. Director James Gray also co-wrote the script, and he has stated that there is a very deliberate, tragic theme running through the story. Some critics have faulted the movie for being overly deterministic, a predestined tragedy that everyone sees coming. And it's true that you can't help but see Leo's fate better than he can. But isn't that part of the point? Throughout the movie, you constantly side with Leo. Poor Leo. Leo still has a thing for his beautiful cousin Erika, who is practically engaged to Willie. Poor Willie, we might also say (Gray says that "Joaquin Phoenix plays the most tragic guy ever."). Erika, Leo's mom, his aunt and his uncle-they all seem to deserve our unconditional pity by the end of the film. And why is that? Things get out of control, and not because someone is particularly evil or malicious. The Yards revolves around this idea of powerlessness; it is not that Leo can't take action, but rather that he has to fight so hard against the circumstances of his life in order to survive.

Does this ease the tension, make the movie less exciting to watch? No way. There are some scenes in which the suspense is almost unbearable-for example, Leo lurking behind hospital curtains, waiting for the right moment to kill a witness, accompanied by the sound of blood rushing through his head. The room has an eerie glow, thanks to Gray's experimentation with the camera film. (In order to get the darker, more subtle "look" of the movie, the film was underexposed to the point where it began to break down.) The movie is full of moments like that-moments in which the characters unwillingly play out the consequences circumstances beyond their control, against a brooding, unfocused dimness that hangs over every scene.

The subtlety and effectiveness of the script and cinematography is complemented by the acting, which is surprisingly minimalist. Mark Wahlberg gives us a subtle but outstanding portrayal of Leo's fear and frustration. Less is more? In this case, yes; Wahlberg is very good at playing like he's trapped and angry without doing much more than making slight adjustments to the muscles on his face. It seems silly to read about, but it works. Much the same thing goes for the rest of the cast. Charlize Theron, ever the chameleon, plays the languid, dark-haired Erika; Faye Dunaway and James Caan are her mother and stepfather. Their acting efforts are helped immensely by Gray's direction. Gray paints every scene in order to give his crew a better idea of his visual style, and he has a definite vision of what the film should be all about, both in terms of plot and aesthetics. The Yards does have a certain edgy, rough, film-school feel to it, but in a lot of ways it's smoother and more assured than so many of the bigger studio releases it has to compete against.

THE YARDS

directed by

James Gray

starring

Joaquin Phoenix

Mark Wahlberg

Miramax