There is something both numbing and strangely profound about the second directorial effort from Scott Cooper (
Crazy Heart). There is a menacing grim to the overall proceedings, yet it is almost impossible to not feel enlightened by what we see unfold on screen and by the development (or lack) of character and the insight that we gain as to why these people that
Out of the Furnace zeroes in on are so compelling without being considered extraordinary. Where director Cooper and his cast excel are in how they don't decide to focus or rely as heavily on the events in which the story documents because in all honesty it feels that after about fifty or so minutes the narrative comes to somewhat of a halt and the momentum slows incredibly despite the fact what we see unfolding has yet to come to fruition and it remains unclear if things will turn out in the best interest of our lead character Russell Blaze (Christian Bale). Still, what keeps the ship from sinking is the fact that Cooper and his gritty eye keep the focus on the actors and the characters they are portraying and allow those performances to carry what might have otherwise been a sometimes silly, most of the time studied account of the backwood folks that apparently live in the hills outside of New Jersey. The site of an old steel town that allows the town resting below it to feel like it's stuck in the mid-70's, Cooper is clearly paying homage to the films of that era (namely
Deer Hunter), this is where the story is set circa 2008, right around the time Obama was elected President and this little statement is used (as
Killing Them Softly not-so subtly stated last year) to re-enforce the state of the economy at that time. All of this is effective in building the atmosphere and setting the tone for a film that knows who its characters are, where they've come from, but more importantly what little they likely have to look forward to and Cooper lets the weight of the narrative rest on their shoulders rather than the twists and turns we might expect from the more plot-driven revenge film that this has been made out to be in the marketing.
Out of the Furnace isn't necessarily an exceptional film, but it provided a substantial amount of thought-provoking ideas in terms of the mentality of man in a remote region and the reasoning for a life that seems more simple than most would like to even consider. No, there is nothing exceptional here, but it is a solid film nonetheless with both Bale and Casey Affleck giving audiences something to remember it by.
