Starring Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson
Directed by Scott Cooper
The economic struggles of the modern US Rust Belt clash with family loyalty in Scott Coopers searing drama Out of the Furnace.
Steel worker Russell Baze (Bale) spends his days working a blue collar job and caring for his terminally ill father while holding down a relationship with a local teacher (Zoe Saldana). Russells brother Rodney (Casey Affleck) returns home after serving overseas in the military only to be lured into a dangerous underground street fighting ring led by the positively malevolent Curtis DeGroat (Harrelson).
Out of the Furnace features several top notch performances and is a gripping experience for the most part but ultimately fails to develop its complex themes satisfyingly. Bale displays some of the best dramatic work of his career, sometimes conveying a wide range of emotions without uttering a single word. Harrelson is downright terrifying and makes a formidable villain, Willem Dafoe shines as the local crime boss while veteran Sam Shepard is sorely underused as Russell and Rodneys wise and weathered uncle.
For the most part, things moves along well as tensions escalate and bonds are tested yet the films climax dispenses with any sort of subtlety and succumbs to the standard revenge flick formula.
Scott Cooper, whose first feature was Crazy Heart, displays enormous talent as a director; equipped with a keen sense of shot composition and understanding of how to get the most from his actors.
The filmmaker has crafted a worthy addition to the genre here, even if it doesnt quite deliver.
