Out Of The Furnace tells the story
of two brothers Russell (Christian Bale) and Rodney (Casey Affleck) Baze, one a
hard working, salt of the earth furnace worker and the other a US serviceman spiraling
out of control, following numerous tours in the Middle East.
Russell tries, as he seemingly
always has, to look after Rodney, even at the risk of his own life, something
that shows up regularly throughout the film.
Christian Bale, as with all of his
roles, bring an authenticity to his portrayal of Russell. He never tries to
inject him unrealistic intelligence or bravery. This is a hard working family
man, who is looking out for his brother. He does what he thinks is best, even
when at times we know it's the wrong thing to do. He is blinded by his
desperation to help Rodney and the consequences of his actions just aren't at
the front of his mind. A decision he makes towards the end of the film involving
a phone call is the best example of Russell being too desperate to think of
what could happen, or who could be be harmed as a result of his choice.
Russell is probably one of Bale's
straightest characters. He is stoic and a genuinely good man. He treats people,
I imagine, how he wants to be treated and the best work from the character
comes when Russell pushes himself out of his comfort zone or has to push
back against his normal behaviour, to be violent or go against and question the
police.
Out of the Furnace is a film that
definitely focuses more on its characters than it does its plot, which could be
one reason for it's pretty stellar cast of character actors.
Willem Dafoe and Forest Whitaker are
two that stand out in small but important roles. However, I would have liked to
have gotten more plot, especially about the hill people and their own little
world. A bit of mystique is great, but when it has that much potential, explore
it more. Show us the difference in the two worlds.
Running at just under two hours,
which for me flew by, I would have liked to have had more plot and seen or
learnt more about Rodney and his time with the Army. There is a small prison
section that occurs whilst Rodney is on tour, for me this would have been
a a prime place to have expanded, maybe even bringing in the hill people as
well, so we have three threads going at once. The characters and performances
are easily the films biggest strength, it would have just been nice to have
seen them do more.
As mentioned already, the cast is
head and shoulders the best thing about this film and Bale goes a great job of
leading them, but the supporting cast definitely shouldn't be overlooked, they
all have the same amount of screen time and do much more than just fill out the
world and give Russell people to interact with. They create a history and bring
it to everything they do, they are a part of this world and belong to it, and
at no point did I find any character forced or overblown.
Harrelson’s DeGroat is a great
villain, a force of nature who lives by his own rules and governs the hills
with an iron fist and is completely unafraid of any man. But I wanted more of
him. Mystery is good, but when you have such an oddball character who is
unafraid to do anything, then give us more of him. It certainly worked in No
Country For Old Men.
One of the criticisms I have seen of
the film the amount of references to other films, classics at that. The
final shot, which clearly pays homage to The Godfather series, is probably the
most notable. Although there are bits and pieces, such as narrative tricks or
general look and tone that recall films such as Silence of the Lambs or The
Deer Hunter, none of which are hard to spot, so maybe that is why the point has
been raised so much.
The final shot is the only one that
stood out, purely because of its length and the numerous other ways it could
have been done. Move the camera, or the character away from the window and
director Scott Cooper may have achieved the same meaning to the shot/scene, but
without such an obvious of a comparison.
The other nod is a narrative trick
similar to climax of Silence of the Lambs, but for me this is not something
that is unique to one film. Lambs arguably pulls it off better, as it has a
real sting with who is at the door when Bill opens, whereas in Furnace, you
already know where the character is when you begin to put together the
locations and timeframe. Used later in the film, it may have worked better.
I really looked forward to Out of
the Furnace and I wasn't let down, if anything I wanted more from it, to spend
more time there, to explore the world and build and bigger plot for all these
great characters to interact in. There can't be many better comments about a
film than seeing it and wanting more.
The one homage it could have paid to
The Godfather or The Deer Hunter, is that it didn't was in this regard.
Director: Scott Cooper
Writers: Scott Cooper and Brad Ingelsby
