Most violent crimes happen at night, or at least that is the impression most people have. Criminals and the law enforcement officers tasked with apprehending them are bitter rivals to who holds power over the dark hours. The new film “We Own the Night,” by writer/director James Gray, uses this conflict as its theme with questionable results.

The film opens to a glimpse of a New York family that is estranged. The patriarch, Burt Grusinsky, is a highly respected police chief who has made his name as a man who does the right thing even when it might not be the most popular way to go. His eldest son, Joseph, has followed in his father’s footsteps in the same police department as his father, continually living in the elder’s giant shadow.

Second son Bobby has taken a completely different route. He is the manager of a thriving nightclub that caters to numerous nefarious individuals. Wanting no one to learn of his connection to two high-profile city cops, Bobby uses his deceased mother’s maiden name as his surname.

Bobby has done well and the nightclub’s owner, a Russian immigrant with mob connections that include a drug-smuggling nephew, wants to expand Bobby’s job description.

Robert Duvall stars as the Grusinsky patriarch, Burt. His portrayal of the police chief is, as one might expect, by-the-book. There is nothing here that diminishes his standing as an Oscar-winning actor, but this role certainly does little to enhance it either.

Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix play Joseph Grusinsky and Bobby Green respectively. It’s with these two main characters that the film begins to lose its direction. Are they supposed to be New York tough guys or are they the new age, touchy-feely men? By the film’s end it is hard to believe or trust either of them.

The one highlight of the film is Eva Mendes. In “We Own the Night,” she plays Amanda Juarez, the long-suffering girlfriend of Bobby Green. Hers is the only performance that is remotely believable. When she gets fed up with all that is happening to her and Bobby, her tirade scene brings life to a largely lifeless film.

Seldom have audiences seen grown men shed so many tears. Director Gray can’t seem to decide whether he is making a sentimental piece geared towards a female audience or an action picture meant for wider appeal. In the process he has produced neither.

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John Malgesini teaches at Umatilla High School.