The Yards (2000)
65%RT Audience Score: 51%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 2 nominations
Featuring strong performances and direction, The Yards is a richly textured crime thriller with an authentic feel
The Yards” is a movie that’s like a fancy dinner – it looks great, but it’s a bit heavy and hard to digest. Critics have called it everything from a “slow-burning family melodrama” to a “lament for a good-hearted white loser.” Personally, I think it’s a bit like a Shakespearean tragedy set in the world of crime. The cast is amazing, the visuals are dark and moody, and the story is full of twists and turns. It’s not a movie you watch for fun, but if you’re in the mood for something heavy and thought-provoking, “The Yards” is definitely worth a watch.
Production Company(ies)
Beimo Films, Persistence of Vision Films,
Distributor
Miramax Films
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
39 India Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language, violence and a scene of sexuality
Year of Release
2000
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 55m
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Language(s):English, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Apr 27, 2000 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 2, 2002
Genre(s)
Crime/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron, James Caan, Ellen Burstyn, Faye Dunaway, directed by James Gray, written by James Gray and Matt Reeves, crime, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Richard Brody, Todd McCarthy, Andrew Sarris, Geoff Andrew, Geoffrey Macnab, Peter Travers, A.S Hamrah, Antonia Quirke, Nick Rogers, Pablo Villaça, Mark Wahlberg as Leo Handler, Joaquin Phoenix as Willie Gutierrez, Charlize Theron as Erica Stoltz, James Caan as Frank Olchin, Ellen Burstyn as Val Handler, Faye Dunaway as Kitty Olchin, produced by Kerry Orent, Paul Webster, Nick Wechsler, R rating, Miramax Films, Dolby SR, SDDS, Surround, DTS, Dolby Digital, Scope (2.35:1)
Worldwide gross: $924,036
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,602,663
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,475
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 174,772
US/Canada gross: $889,352
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,542,506
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,095
US/Canada opening weekend: $57,339
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $99,450
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,935
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $24,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $41,625,979
Production budget ranking: 919
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $22,415,589
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$62,438,905
ROI to date (est.): -97%
ROI ranking: 2,006
Joaquin Phoenix – Willie Gutierrez
Charlize Theron – Erica Stoltz
James Caan – Frank Olchin
Ellen Burstyn – Val Handler
Faye Dunaway – Kitty Olchin
Director – James Gray
Producers – Kerry Orent, Paul Webster, Nick Wechsler
Writers – James Gray, Matt Reeves
Director(s)
James Gray
Writer(s)
James Gray, Matt Reeves
Producer(s)
Kerry Orent, Paul Webster, Nick Wechsler
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 2 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (98) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (63) | Rotten (35)
The tangle of family, business, and crime, with its resulting loyalties and betrayals, is the volatile stuff of which the drama is made.
June 28, 2021
Richard Brody
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
An On the Waterfront wannabe, directed with a heavy portentousness that smothers the drama in a thick sauce of self-importance.
August 5, 2008
Todd McCarthy
Variety
TOP CRITIC
I can’t remember when a film so well-acted and so well-rendered visually was also so oppressive to sit through.
April 27, 2007
Andrew Sarris
Observer
TOP CRITIC
A sensitive, intelligent and ambitious variation on the traditional going-straight story.
June 24, 2006
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Self-consciously elegiac, The Yards is a slow-burning but meticulously crafted family melodrama posing as a thriller.
December 2, 2002
Geoffrey Macnab
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
May 8, 2001 | Rating: 2/5
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
TOP CRITIC
The outer boroughs in James Gray’s New York are forlorn, and The Yards is a lament for a good-hearted white loser…
September 16, 2020
A.S. Hamrah
The Baffler
It has a terrific subject, an unimprovable cast and a trio of trustworthy, even hip, producers. And no life.
November 28, 2017
Antonia Quirke
Independent on Sunday
How “The Yards” shifts toward crime drama through character rather than pure plot is hard to disclose without divesting twists. Inspired by real-life scandal, James Gray lets personal insight color Shakespearean shenanigans of privilege, panic and power.
December 15, 2010 | Rating: 3.5/4
Nick Rogers
The Film Yap
Sem medo de evocar comparaes com “O Poderoso Chefo”, Gray cria um filme repleto de personagens ambguos e uma forte atmosfera de tristeza e desesperana moral.
November 9, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
Pablo Villaça
Cinema em Cena
…the filmmaker’s use of dark visuals effectively matches the moody, almost operatic tone of the script.
October 30, 2007 | Rating: 2.5/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Understatement is something that one would not normally associate with such a pulpy tale, but that’s what makes Gray’s film surprisingly effective.
October 14, 2007 | Rating: 3/4
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com…
Plot
In the rail yards of Queens, contractors repair and rebuild the city’s subway cars. These contracts are lucrative, so graft and corruption are rife. When Leo Handler gets out of prison, he finds his aunt married to Frank Olchin, one of the big contractors; he’s battling with a minority-owned firm for contracts. Willie Gutierrez, Leo’s best friend, is Frank’s bag man and heads a crew of midnight saboteurs who ruin the work of the Puerto Rican-owned firm. Leo needs a job, so Willie pays him to be his back-up. Then things go badly wrong one night, a cop IDs Leo, and everyone now wants him out of the picture. Besides his ailing mom and his cousin Erica, to whom can Leo turn?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The ensemble cast delivers outstanding performances, with Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, and James Caan standing out in their respective roles.
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