Coming from Crazy Heart director Scott Cooper (being written by both Cooper and The Dynamiter’s Brad Ingelsby) Out Of The Furnace is a gritty tale of brotherly love, explored with all-star cast, through drink-driving, bare-knuckle fights, and a slightly less than mysterious disappearance.
Former Batman Christian Bale leads the cast as Russell Baze; a well intentioned, hard-working, man who’s always looking out for his younger brother Rodney (Casey Affleck, The Killer Inside Me) by paying off his shady debts, and generally trying to keep him out of trouble, but after a rather nasty drink-driving incident lands Russell in prison, Rodney’s time in the army, and lack of work, begin to get the better of him, and he gets mixed up with the wrong crowd.
Needless to say, getting involved with loan sharks, underground fighting rings, and some rather psychotic drug-dealers that even the local police are terrified of, leads to Rodney getting into a spot of bother down the road, and it falls on Russell; the elder, take-no-prisoners, ex-con with a mission; to do what the police can’t, and take on the most dangerous man he’s ever seen, single-handedly.
It’s a great story, brilliantly written, and undeniably engaging (it’s edge of your seat stuff from the opening few minutes), but Out Of The Furnace isn’t for action junkies; it’s a slow burner, that takes a good hour to craft its characters, and build a believable setting, that you’ll actually care about, before it even gets to the crux of the plot (the man-on-a-mission side of things). But by taking it’s time, building, slowly, and making you engage with these people, their lives, and the tests they’re facing (the mill that killed the Bazes’ father is the only real place to find work, Rodney’s clearly dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, Russell’s had real relationship issues since going inside, and the whole town just seems beaten down, and finished economically), you actually do care for these characters. A lot. And even though they’re obviously going through some incredibly tough times, it’s like a car-crash happening in slow motion; you know what’s going on, and how bad it’ll be for those involved, but you just can’t look away.
That’s due to not only to the undeniably fantastic writing from Cooper and Ingelsby, and Cooper’s impressive eye for direction (even though the whole place is a run-down mess, there’s an air of tragic beauty around every wonderfully crafted shot), but the impressive performances from the star-studded cast; Bale proved how well he could act in The Fighter, and is just as engaging (though slightly less wacky), and strong, here. Casey Affleck (who deserves much more recognition, but seems to be stifled by the shadow of his older brother) also delivers a stunning turn as the emotionally damaged Rodney; you’re never sure when/how his mood is going to flip, and even though he’s making huge mistakes, and being rather stupid, Affleck manages to subtly make you care for this guy, and believe he actually does have good intentions.
Supporting stars also fare extremely well, as Sam Shepard (the Black Hawk Down star recently seen in TV’s Klondike) is perfectly placed as the Baze-brothers’ solemn uncle, Zoe Saldana (Avatar) is believable as the love of Russell’s life, Forest Whitaker (The Last Stand) is a solid inclusion as the policeman with a personal axe to grind against Russell (though perhaps he could’ve done without laying the accent on so strongly), and Willem Dafoe (The Hunter) works brilliantly as the local loan-shark who, in a weird sort of way, is actually looking out for Rodney (even if he doesn’t seem quite as dangerous as he should).
Yet, un-surprisingly it’s Woody Harrelson who steals the show; he stars as the big, bad, white-trash, psycho Harlan DeGroat, and although the character doesn’t call for much other than acting like an asshole, Woody does an exceptional job; when he’s calm and smiling, there’s still an abundant whiff of terror in the air, and when he flips (as he does, often and fast) he can be so intimidating, and seem so powerful, that he’s truly terrifying, and utterly mesmerising to watch (not dissimilar to his performance in Natural Born Killers).
So between Harrelson and Bale alone the acting quality is superb, not to mention the stellar supporting stars. The direction is excellent, the writing was fantastic, and although there’s not too much action, what there is, is perfect. Dickon Hinchliffe’s score is great, and while the film is a real slow burner, it’s truly worth sticking with it, because it’s constantly building tension, making you care about these characters, and building to an excellent conclusion. Brutal, bloody, and bloody brilliant, Out Of The Furnace really is one to watch.
Picture:
Coming to Blu-ray with a 1080p transfer that’s often dark, and free from artificial lighting enhancements, Out Of The Furnace has a consistently dull, drab, and disheartening feel to it; which is exactly what Scott Cooper and cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi were aiming for. Blacks can, in some cases, appear a little grey, but despite the often limited palette, colour and contrast are handled beautifully here, fine detail is exceptional, and the grainy texture only enhances the film-like look of the movie, and perfectly compliments the style of the film.
Audio:
Traversing the soundstage via an impressive 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, the sound quality for the Out Of The Furnace Blu-ray is nothing to be sniffed at; surround channels are excellently utilised, ambient sounds often fill the soundstage (with enough subtlety to feel organic), dialogue is well placed and consistently clear, and there are a number of truly immersive scenes which provide a real 360 degree soundscape, are complimented by a booming soundtrack, and make the whole listening experience effortlessly engaging.
Special Features:
Arriving with four short featurettes, the collection of bonus materials on offer for Out Of The Furnace aren’t exactly mind-blowing, but effective enough. We get featurettes including the main stars discussing their inspiration, a profile of the film’s director, and a featurette where he discusses the influence of music upon his writing, as well as a closer examination of the fight scenes; making for an acceptable, and watchable, though clearly not unmissable, collection of extras.
The Bottom Line:
While the special features on this disc may be fairly middle-of-the-road fare, the picture and audio quality are both superb, and Out Of The Furnace itself is an undeniably excellent film; it’s by no means a happy tale, but it’s one that’s worth exploring, and coming from producers Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf Of Wall Street), and Ridley Scott (Prometheus), and being filled with such an impressive cast (Bale, Harrelson, Dafoe, Whitaker, Saldana, and Affleck are all excellent), not to mention a simply superb script from Scott Cooper and Brad Inglesby, Out Of The Furnace is one film you really aught to watch; a slow burner, with a solid story, it’s gripping, uncompromising, and truly unmissable.
