“Out of the Furnace” is a slow-moving movie with a central
character that’s hard to care about. Part of the problem is the script, which
is confusing in many places; however, the main problem is the underdeveloped
Russell Base, played by a somnambulant Christian Bale. Russell is a tragic
figure in the classical sense. His life, at least what we see of it, is full of
pain, disappointment and sadness. Nonetheless, he is a hard-working man who
puts in his daily shift at the steel mill in order to make ends meet. His
brother, Rodney (Casey Affleck), has endured several tours of duty in Iraq and
is having trouble adjusting to life away from the army. He’s deep in debt to a
local bookie and loan shark (Willem Dafoe) and becomes involved in back-alley
bare-knuckle boxing matches to make a little cash, which he then gambles away.
Desperate to make a big score, Rodney accompanies Petty to New Jersey, where
he’s introduced to Harlan DeGroat (Woody Harrelson), a sociopath with a short fuse
and a love of violence.
The one reason to see this movie is Harrelson’s DeGroat. He
is so good at being evil that it’s difficult to remember that his career began
with him playing the good-hearted, naïve bartender in Cheers. One the other hand, Bale’s portrayal is so low key that
it’s almost nonexistent. And hard to believe that, physically, Casey Affleck is
capable of winning bare-knuckle boxing matches. There’s a scene where Russell
and his uncle (Sam Shepard) go deer hunting where director Scott Cooper is
trying to show how literate he is by using this scene as a metaphor for what is
to come. It doesn’t work. “Out of the Furnace” has a lot of atmosphere, but it
never achieves its goal of being a compelling drama. 12/11/13
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