Westside Steve Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 Out of the Furnace Relativity Media R Well friends, Christian Bale has officially moved in to that elite group of actors whose presence in a film can persuade me to go. There aren't many but this guy has been great in a lot of different situations. Now if you’ve seen previews you know that he has two films coming out within a week. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing AMERICAN HUSTLE but this week I chose writer director Scott Coopers latest venture entitled OUT OF THE FURNACE. This project has apparently been languishing for a few years waiting for Bale to have an opening in his schedule. In my research I've found that one of the producers of this film is Leonardo DiCaprio who was originally considered to play Russell Baze the lead character. I doubt I'd have gone had that been the case. Probably the first thing to strike me about this film is the debt that it owes to 1970s legendary THE DEER HUNTER. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a rip off by any stretch of the imagination it’s just a combination of the Pennsylvania Rust Belt, and the struggles of a returning war veteran. Oh yes and extremely violent competition. I've mentioned before that I'm often intrigued by bleak and depressing films. I'm a big fan of author Cormac McCarthy's (he has nothing to do with this film; just a reference) work and there are few sets of literature les cheerful than his. (Not quite sure why I like this stuff since I'm basically a pretty happy guy although I admit my favorite songs are but I think that's the Irish heritage.). At any rate OUT OF THE FURNACE is not an uplifting film to say the least. Russell Baze (Bale) is a stoic product of Appalachian poverty. He goes to his dead end job everyday while looking out for his ne’er do well younger brother Rodney (Casey Affleck). In this world and in that situation, that's as close to sainthood as one can expect to get. Rodney, you see, came back from the war a damaged young man; a hopeless and broken loser traveling a deadly path. Unable to fit in to the working world and the mundane existence at home he's chosen to make what money he can as a bare knuckles back street fighter. Unfortunately his gambling debt is so big that he could never hope to repay it unless he agrees to take a dive. The local bookie and bar owner is a man named Petty played by Willem Dafoe. He's something of a mentor to the young man and tries in vain to get him out of the hole by throwing a couple of fights. This is something that Rodney just can't bring himself to do, not because of any moral objection but, as it seems to me, just because he doesn't have the self-control to follow through and usually winds up pounding his opponent into submission. The fights that Petty promotes are pretty much small potatoes and the big money is to be made a few hours away in the New Jersey hills in and incredibly cruel world of fighting under the control of Curtis De Groat (Woody Harrelson in one of his best performances) one of the most loathsome villains. The police are powerless, afraid or both to do anything about this hillbilly criminal empire of which the meth lab is possibly the most respectable aspect. Rodney pleads with Petty for a bout even though everyone knows it will end badly. Now when it seems things can't get much worse they do. Russle winds up in prison after a tragic drunk driving incident and can't be there to protect his younger brother. To make matters worse while in prison the light of Russell's life leave him for another man and is shitty factory job is about to disappear thanks to competition from cheap foreign steel. At this point it would ruin the movie for you if I give more detail but trust me nothing good happens. Here’s where the film started to go a little south for me. The story kind of shifts gears from the portrait of desperation to more of a vigilante thriller and I couldn’t buy into some of the twists and turns; they just didn’t ring true. I was also hoping for a more shocking climax, though I don’t exactly know why. Anyway it’s still good, but I thought with a little work could have been great. B WSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadNewsBrowns Posted December 23, 2013 Report Share Posted December 23, 2013 I didn't think it was anything special at all... sort of a modern day Next of Kin. The story was boring and predictable, Bale was alright but nothing compared to the role he played in The Fighter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPPT1974 Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 Want to see this as really like Christian Bale a lot! Great actor of all time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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