Out of the Furnace comes out of the traps with intent as we are introduced to a character named Harlan DeGroat (a ferocious Woody Harrelson) in a violent and atmospheric scene set at a drive-in movie. After that strong opening, Out of the Furnace wastes no time in squandering the talent of its cast with a leaden script, plodding plot and themes that are picked up and dropped without being further developed.
Out of the Furnace is essentially a tale of two brothers trying to make ends meet in difficult times. Russell, the eldest (Christian Bale) works double shifts at the steel mill to support his dying father and his girlfriend Lena (Zoe Saldana). His brother Rodney (Casey Affleck), has joined the army in an attempt to break from tradition but following several tours in Iraq, he finds himself unemployed and despondent back in the hometown. As Rodney becomes involved in the shady world of bare-knuckle boxing, Russell is forced to step in on his behalf, bringing him into contact with the psychotic Harlan DeGroat (Harrelson).
This is Christian Bale’s film; but it shouldn’t be. That’s not to say that Bale isn’t his usual reliable self, it’s just that Russell is the least interesting character here. The war-damaged Rodney is much more compelling and Casey Affleck is fantastic as a man struggling with post-traumatic stress and small town suffocation. It’s a frustration every time we leave Affleck in order to follow Bale. Similarly, Zoe Saldana, Willem Defoe and Forrest Whitaker are wasted in roles that are so insignificant, it’s hard to imagine why they took the job in the first place.
Director Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart) is clearly trying to reference gritty 1970s drama with his use of 35mm. While visually he hits this mark (35mm suits the downbeat feel of the piece as well as the smoky, small-town environment of its setting), the film as a whole doesn’t have the complexity to back it up. Cooper attempts to place the piece in a political context; like Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly, the film takes place against the backdrop of the 2008 Presidential election but unlike that film, Out of the Furnace has very little to say about the state of the nation. In the end, it seems like an arbitrary gesture – a thematic dead end.
All in all, Out of the Furnace is a forgettable thriller that fails to thrill – a footnote in the careers of its impressive cast.