Out of the Furnace: Christian Bale is Definitely in the Furnace

Hello everybody! Today we have an ensemble cast in Out of the Furnace.

OUT OF THE FURNACE

DIRECTOR: Scott Cooper

STARRING: Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, Zoe Saldana, Sam Shepard

GENRE: Thriller

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: United States

Russell and his younger brother Rodney live in the economically-depressed Rust Belt, and have always dreamed of escaping and finding better lives. But when a cruel twist of fate lands Russell in prison, his brother becomes involved with one of the most violent and ruthless crime rings in the Northeast – a mistake that will cost him everything. Once released, Russell must choose between his own freedom, or risk it all to seek justice for his brother.

 Out of the Furnace is one of Christian Bale’s first post-Dark Knight films. The film overall has received much praise for its storytelling and its acting. The film had a very interesting story, following many different points of the main character’s life. The characters are my favorite aspect of Out of the Furnace. We really get to watch Russell (Christian Bale) and Rodney (Casey Affleck) grow and then demolish and or self-obliterate themselves. Now that its what makes a great picture. I have to point out that my favorite performance was Woody Harrelson. I forget how absolutely great he is when he portrays a sociopath. the craziness really emanates within him.

Despite all of the praise Out of the Furnace was given, I really didn’t enjoy it (except for Harrelson). Christian Bale was horrendous, but I think that is just being biased I haven’t liked him as an actor since the Dark Knight trilogy. This is very disappointing since I liked him in Reign of Fire, Equilibrium, and The Machinist. He just doesn’t do it for me anymore.I was surprised that Casey Affleck, who isn’t as big of a star as Christian Bale and Woody Harrelson, had the most screen time. His character was on a self-destruction path from the start and they had to show every minute of it. My biggest peeve though is that while overall I liked the story, I was disappointed that they didn’t show certain events from his arrest and jail time. I felt that they should have added more just so we could actually understand why he was there. I get that they showed him killing the mother and child, but what about his conviction? That could have made the story that much more interesting.

PROS:

•  Ensemble cast.
• Casey Affleck’s performance.
• Woody Harrelson’s performance.

CONS:

•  Christian Bale’s performance.
• Waste of an ensemble cast.
• Amateur writing.
• Can I have 2 hours of my life back?

SCORE: 5.5 / 10

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