Year: 2013
Director: Scott Cooper
Country: US
Language: English
Russell and his younger brother Rodney live in the economically-depressed Rust Belt, and have always dreamed of escaping and finding better lives. But when a cruel twist of fate lands Russell in prison his brother is lured into one of the most violent and ruthless crime rings in the Northeast - a mistake that will almost cost him everything. Once released Russell must choose between freedom or finding his brother.
Out of the Furnace desperately tries to mimic Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter but hits all the wrong notes. For instance, it has none of the sense of urgency and dramatic tension Deer Hunter had. The film spends a lot of time establishing and developing the main characters, and while this wouldn't be a problem for most films, it definitely is a problem for this film. The pace is too slow for a thriller and is not able to psychologically grip us.
When it does pickup the pace, during the "revenge" part of the picture, it is far too fast. The criminal showdown feels like the cliche action picture starring Stallone rather than a deliberate methodical movie, like it spent the last hour trying to be, It's unfortunate that the Director neither embraced the arthouse or mainstream way and ended up with a Frankenstein monster, made of parts from both but not fully functional.
In conclusion, Out of the Furnace was not the experience I expected, in a bad way. It had all the potential to be a gritty classic, but failed on almost every level. The dialogue could be great, but it doesn't merge with the story coherently. Also, Christian Bale's performance is the anti-christ of good acting. Piss on it! 2/5
No comments:
Post a Comment