Out of the Furnace is a drama/vengeance story, starring Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, and Zoe Saldana. The story focusses around two brothers, who can’t seem to catch a break in life. The older brother (Bale) is trying to get his life in order with his loving girlfriend (Saldana), while his younger bother (Affleck) is a soldier trying to find work when he is not being sent overseas. A dramatic event then happens in Bale’s life that lands him in jail, and upon his return, he learns that his brother is trying to make some money in underground boxing. He deals with the wrong people, and now it is up to Bale to set things right.
I actually enjoyed Out of the Furnace, but it may not be the movie you think it is. The trailers might give you the impression that Casey Affleck gets kidnapped by Woody Harrelson, and Bale swoops in to save the day with a rifle that he is going to use to shoot up all the bad guys. This is not an action flick by no means. Its a dark and gritty drama, and pretty damn depressing at times. Bale’s character cannot seem to catch a break whatsoever as the events continue on with the story. So if you’re looking for an action/vengeance story, this isn’t the film for you.
But if you are looking for a performance fueled drama, well then this is the film for you. The performances are truly what drive the movie along. Bale and Affleck’s chemistry works perfectly, and Woody Harrelson as this hick, mountain raised scumbag, is actually my favorite performance of the whole movie. I mean his character is truly a piece of something you scrape off the bottom of your shoe that smells bad.
My only real gripe about the movie, is it is a little slow paced, and can just get pretty depressing at times. Doesn’t necessarily hurt the movie, and I do love how director Scott Cooper kept that same gritty tone throughout the whole thing. Cooper definitely has a unique style of filmmaking, and I will be looking forward to his next piece.
Out of the Furnace is not a movie that you need to rush to see, but if our are looking for a performance driven dark drama, then you will enjoy it. Definitely check it out when it comes out on video if you don’t feel like spending the 12 bucks in the theater. If you did happen to see it, let me know what you think in the comments. Also, check out my video review.