Out of the Furnace

Out of the Furnace

Rating 5 out of 10

Before I start my review I have to tell about the movie theater I saw this movie in.  Working on a job just south of Washington DC the nearby theater had seats that were like my recliner at home!  These even had the electric buttons on the arm rest that recline the chair and extend the foot rest.  I didn't have to find a place with no one in front of me so I could extend my long legs and mostly clean shoes into that seat. Pure heaven for myself with my diet coke and bag of black twirlers!

On to the review...

The good.   This may be the most well acted movie of 2013.  Christian Bale is great as the brooding good brother that works at a steel mill, pays his bills and loves his girlfriend.  Casey Affleck is good as the crazy brother who comes home from time to time between his military tours.  Sam Shepard is always great.  When I see him on screen I just wish he were my uncle and I could sit on the porch and have him dispense wisdom to me.  The person that steals the show is Woody Harrelson.  In real life he is clearly a nut job and is determined not to be locked into any particular tip of role.  Here he is the very bad man leading a bunch of hillbilly drug dealers. You really feel the fear when he gets upset with someone.

The not so good.  The problem is the slow moving script.  I would call this the feel bad movie of the year.  The good brother goes to jail on a drunk driving accident and loses everything (not a spoiler), the crazy brother is having some sort of post traumatic stress breakdown from all the bad things he has seen.  He can't find work after the military and resorts to some sort of Fight Club for money as he seems to enjoy the beatings.  Heck, even the dad is dying from cancer in their dirty town where the mill is closing.  You feel like you need a shower when you leave the theater.

When the crazy brother crosses the bad drug dealer (Harrelson) the good brother comes looking for payback.  It's just when director Scott Cooper goes from A to Z you get every letter in the alphabet.  I wouldn't say I disliked the movie.  Disappointed may be a better word.  The very ending left me scratching my head wondering what I had seen.

I would say rent this one for the good acting.