Out Of The Furnace
Starring: Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson
Director: Scott Cooper
Rating: 4/5
Christian Bale really is one of the best actors of his generation and it is always exciting to see him back on the big screen.
With Out of the Furnace he delivers another terrific and tortured performance, as he leads an all-star cast.
Russell Baze (Bale) has a rough life: he works a dead-end blue-collar job at the local steel mill by day, and cares for his terminally ill father by night.
When Russell’s brother Rodney (Affleck) returns home from serving time in Iraq, he is lured into one of the most ruthless crime rings in the Northeast and mysteriously disappears.
The police fail to crack the case, so - with nothing left to lose - Russell takes matters into his own hands, putting his life on the line to seek justice for his brother.
Bale, Affleck and Harrelson all really do deliver terrific performances in Out of the Furnace; to see these three in action is worth the price of the ticket alone.
I appreciate that this is a movie that may not be to everyone's taste, but I found Out of the Furnace to be a tense and gripping watch.
There is an air of dread that hangs over this entire film, as Cooper really does deliver a film that is dripping with bleakness and tragedy.
There is no major plot twist; however, what Cooper does deliver is a raw and gritty feel from start to finish.
Out of the Furnace is completely brought to life by the standout performance from the cast.
Bale, once again, is completely knockout in the central role. Russell Baze is not a bad man, he has just been handed an incredibly hand. However, no matter what life throws at him, he dusts himself off and gets on with it.
This movie is driven forward by the central relationship of brothers Russell and Rodney; some of the film's best scenes are when Bale and Affleck are face to face.
Affleck also delivers a terrific performance, as the solider who is struggling to find his place in the world now that he is home from the war.
Harrelson is also truly chilling as Harlan DeGroat; from the moment you meet this character you can see there is a ruthlessness and madness behind his eyes.
Sadly, Bale and Harrelson do not share too much screen time; but the couple of scenes were they do face off are incredibly memorable.
Out of the Furnace is a slow burner of a film - if you will forgive the pun - as you see Russell risk it all in this great revenge tale.
I suppose that Out of the Furnace is a little predictable, but that doesn't mean it wasn't an exciting watch.
Out of the Furnace is out now.