Out of the Furnace

When a man (Christian Bale) is incarcerated after a terrible accident, his brother (Casey Affleck) joins the army to fight in Iraq and earn money for the family and their elderly father’s medical care. When they finally reunite, both of them are irreparably changed, and not necessarily for the better.

Directed by Scott Cooper, Out of the Furnace is thoughtful and  measured, drawing powerhouse performances out of Christian Bale and Casey Affleck as brothers Russell and Rodney Baze, dreaming of bigger things but forced by circumstances into lives they never asked for. Woody Harrelson is suitably terrifying as bareknuckle boxer and drug lord Curtis DeGroat, introduced force-feeding a woman and putting a witness in the hospital, and he only gets worse for there.

Unfortunately, despite some fantastic performance, others are less well-served by the script. Forest Whittaker and Zoe Saldana are given little to do and do it well, but the main thrust of the plot is the conflict between Bale, Affleck and Harrelson which simmers throughout, ending with a tense showdown amidst a ruined blast furnace.

It starts nasty and ends nasty, with brutal violence, broken dreams and shallow graves. Recommended, but could have utilised the cast more. If anything, a longer cut could have improved it.

Donal O’Connor

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