Out of the Furnace

In Out of the Furnace, we get Christian Bale and Casey Affleck as brothers who are both trying to escape their depressing lives and equally depressing steel mill town.  These are great characters and performances, and I am recommending the film.  But, it's also a shame that co-writer and director Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart) decides to end his fascinating story in such a simplistic and violent way.  The movie is good enough as is, but if it truly stayed with these characters and didn't cop out with non-stop shootouts, it could have been great.

The story is set in 2008 in the middle of a small Pennsylvania community that seems to either be on the verge of crumbling, or it crumbled a long time ago, and the people who live there are just slowly dealing with the reality.  Bale plays Russell, a guy who had an honest life working at the mill and tending after his ill father, until a car accident landed him behind bars for a short while.  During that time, he lost his father, as long as his girlfriend (Zoe Saldana), who remains friendly with him when he gets out, even though she is dating someone else.  Russell's brother, Rodney (Affleck), has served four tours of duty in Iraq, and is so unnerved by his experiences on the battlefield, he cannot lead a normal life.  The only way he knows how to make money is by betting on horses and competing in bare-knuckle boxing fights that a local gangster (Willem Dafoe) helps set up.

The movie sets up these two brothers beautifully, both with how their relationship has been written, as well as the performances by the two stars.  The atmosphere of the crumbling steel mill town that surrounds them, combined with both men trying to get by in their different ways creates a sense of hopelessness.  It's clear that they have accepted their lives, and have long stopped wishing for something better.  When the screenplay is centered on just these two men and their lives together, the movie works beautifully as a slow-burn drama.  The tension is quiet and fluid, as it should be.  It's when the movie switches gears and becomes a revenge thriller in its third act that the movie stands on less firm ground.  It's still entertaining, thanks to the performances, and there's definitely a sense of urgency built.  But it also feels needlessly simplistic, both in its build up, and in its resolution.

And yet, I started out with hope for this part of the film as well, as Out of the Furnace has a great villain in Harlan DeGroat.  As played by Woody Harrelson (in a completely chilling performance), Harlan is a strung out meth dealer who is so unpredictable in his moods and fits of violence, he becomes one of the most hateful villains in any movie this year.  The opening scene which introduces him is stark, brutal, and downright horrifying.  That the movie takes its time working him into the actual story does create a certain level of suspense, as we know what he's capable of.  Once he does make his way into the plot, and Bale's Russell starts gunning after him, the movie kind of lacks a clear sense of direction.  We understand the rivalry between the two, but at the same time, the movie doesn't spend enough time on it, so it feels oddly underwritten.

It's also around this point that Bale's character goes from a troubled and interesting character, to a generic hero who goes around, infiltrating the villain's hideout, and doing lots of undercover stuff.  There's just not enough here to make the transition believable, although Bale does make a good effort of it.  I am recommending the film based on the performances, and how good the first hour or so of the movie is.  They're good enough to rise above whatever second and third act problems the movie goes through.  Still, you have to wonder why the filmmakers didn't trust that the characters couldn't carry this movie all the way through, and had to switch over to violent action sequences to hold our attention.  It shows a certain lack of spirit when your screenplay starts out promising, and then you feel the need to cheapen it.

I wish I could recommend this movie more than I am.  I suppose I could knock it harder for how formulaic it eventually becomes, but the stuff that works here is just so good, I can't bring myself to say that it's not worth your time if you should rent it or see it on TV someday.  I can only imagine what kind of a movie this could be if the script hadn't lost its nerve.

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