Out of the Furnace (DVD REVIEW)
Out of
the Furnace
DVD Review
by Kam Williams
Christian
Bale, Casey Affleck and Forest Whitaker
Co-Star in Raw Revenge Thriller
Russell Baze’s (Christian Bale) is
stuck in a dead-end job at a rural Pennsylvania
steel mill rumored to be closing soon. He’s not in a position to abandon the
Rust Belt in search of greener pastures, between having to care for his
terminally-ill, widowed father (Bingo O’Malley) and a kid brother (Casey
Affleck) suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome.
Military veteran Rodney, Jr. hasn’t
been able to make the adjustment back to civilian life following several tours
of duty over in Iraq.
In fact, he hasn’t been the same since their mother died.
Because of a burgeoning gambling
debt, Rodney has agreed to participate in fixed street fights being staged by
the bookie (Willem Dafoe) he owes a lot of money. Trouble is he becomes so
blinded with rage after being punched, that he can’t be relied upon to throw a
contest as promised.
Russell is so desperate to save his
troubled sibling that he’s even willing to pay off Rodney’s I.O.U. in
increments on his modest salary. But even that plan goes up in smoke the day
Russell is arrested for manslaughter after driving under the influence.
By the time he’s paroled, Rodney’s
disappeared, and is rumored to have been abducted out of state by a ruthless
gang of drug dealers led by a sadistic Ramapo Indian (Woody
Harrelson) with a short fuse. The local police chief (Forest Whitaker) is
sympathetic, but has no jurisdiction in Jersey, which leaves Russell no choice
but to take the law into his own hands with the help of hard-nosed Uncle Red
(Sam Shepard).
Written and
directed by Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart), Out of the Furnace is a gritty revenge
thriller unfolding against the telling backdrop of a decaying American
landscape. Thus, almost overshadowing the desperate search at the center of the
story is the sobering specter of an aging national infrastructure irreversibly
past its prime.
While the gratuitous violence goes
over the top occasionally, the film nevertheless remains highly recommended, at
least for folks with a cast iron stomach. For, the veteran cast of this
character-driven splatterfest proves to be as adept at delivering dialogue as
dispensing street justice.
A gruesome
showdown between warring clans reminiscent of an old-fashioned, backwoods feud
between the Hatfields and the McCoys.
Very Good (3
stars)
Rated R
for profanity, drug use and graphic violence
Running time: 116 minutes
Distributor: Fox Home
Entertainment
DVD Extras:
Inspiration; and the theatrical trailer.
To see a trailer for Out
of the Furnace, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhsGY8jZnR4
To order a copy of Out of the Furnace on DVD, visit:
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