WORDS James Dowling
Out of the Furnace, the latest film from writer/director Scott Cooper tells a story of familial obligations overpowering personal convictions. Set in rural America, Russell Baze (Christian Bale) earns an honest living in the steel mill. His younger brother Rodney (Casey Affleck) longs to do something more with his life and escape the monotony of his surroundings. Heavily in debt to a local bookie (Willem Dafoe), he decides to put his military training to use in the fighting arena to earn his way. His headstrong attitude leads him to become involved with a much darker breed of gambler (Woody Harrelson), which culminates in the intervention of his brother in the gritty world he has spent his life avoiding.
Without a doubt the film’s most remarkable feature is its cast, all of whom give memorable performances while giving credible portrayals of their characters. Harrelson in particular stands out in his antagonist role, creating an atmosphere of nerves and terror in each of his scenes. Following the progress of Russell throughout the storyline is the driving point of the film: We watch him struggle with his conscience after a road collision results in two deaths and his strained efforts to cope with the resulting fallout. His relationship with his brother is also interesting as we compare the well portrayed fraternal bond that exists between them with the palpable tensions that arise as a result of their different lifestyles.
The setting serves its function superbly, with Cooper effectively capturing both the familiar integrity it holds for Russell and the suffocating, claustrophobic sensation it instils in Rodney. The direction is artistic throughout, with some striking (if somewhat forced) symbolism to be seen, and would appear to come naturally to Cooper, given similar qualities are to be appreciated in his 2009 film Crazy Heart.
However, Out of the Furnace purports to be something it is not. Promotional trailers showing scenes of Bale running through fields with a shotgun slung over his shoulder give a rather deceptive impression of the film’s nature. Similarly, the opening scene of Harrelson savagely beating a man to convey the atrociousness of his character sets the film off on the wrong foot given his disappointingly few appearances throughout. In short, the film is far from the fast-paced action movie it presents itself as.
The biggest flaw of the film, however, is that it simply fails to hold the viewer’s attention. The timeline serves to disjoint the film in a way which alienates those watching it and, as a result, the overall direction of the story is at times unclear or simply forgotten. The plot as a whole is also quite predictable, with few real surprises in store for the viewer, and the final scene taking place outside the mill is a cliche the film could have done without.
